Last week a large fight broke out between teenagers at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Bainbridge. According to witnesses at the scene, the fight started between two female high school students and their friends then joined in.
This fight is the third brawl to occur in the area in less than a month. Similar incidents occurred at the Valley View Cinemark and Beachwood Place, and video of all three fights was posted online almost immediately after.
While the teenagers involved in the three separate fights insist that the similarities are coincidental, Attorney Ian N. Friedman and others believe that that the incidents are connected and that the teens are using social media to stage the fights in public places.
"They're doing it for attention," Attorney Friedman told Fox 8 Ohio. "The second this fight happens, they're putting it online to get acknowledgement and praise from others, and that's a very scary sign for the future."
Fight Participants May Be Seeking Internet Notoriety
After hundreds of teenagers were involved in the brawl at the Valley View Cinemark earlier this month, Attorney Friedman told WKYC Channel 3 that these fights could indicate a trend of young people seeking to create fear and chaos to get online attention.
"What the kids are going for is shock value," Attorney Friedman explained. "If they now know that they have an outlet to get online, what's going to happen next?" Police stated that the YouTube user that posted video footage of the Bainbridge fight also posted videos of the fights at Valley View and Beachwood Place.
While the teenagers may be seeking to find fame on the internet, these fights put innocent bystanders at risk of serious injury. Bainbridge Police told Fox 8 Ohio that they plan to file criminal charges against the participants, and hope that this will deter similar incidents from occurring in the future.
For further information about the Bainbridge fight follow coverage from Fox 8 Ohio . Learn more about the previous incidents by reading our post: Beachwood and Valley View Brawls – Were Teens Seeking Attention?