MEDICINE HAT, AB — Police are sharing details about a fight club they found online, involving teens in the city.
Sergeant Mike Fischer said police heard about the ‘Snapchat fight club’ about a month ago.
Details about the club were released in the latest police commission report.
A list of names were posted on the app and anyone who saw it could reply, stating who they wanted to fight.
Even though the first rule of fight club is ‘you don’t talk about fight club,’ that was all the information police needed.
“There was a youth who was out of town, sending out Snapchats with names on it and other kids, who were viewing the Snapchats could, if they wanted, pick someone to fight,” Fischer said.
Fischer said students went to resource officers in school and it didn’t take them long to find out who was behind it.
“It was obviously disturbing to students because it was students who brought it to the attention of the police,” said superintendent of the Medicine Hat Public School District, Mark Davidson.
Officers said teens would meet up in different parks, place they thought no one would find them.
“I think it boggles most of our minds why this kind of thing has become a thing,” Fischer said. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure that we can put a lid on it.”
Police have since talked to the teen behind posting the lists and believe the fights have fizzled out.
“We’re always on alert in case something like this does pop up again, but we’re confident that the citizens of the community are going to help us out with that,” he said.
Davidson knows how important smart phones and apps can be in the classroom, but he also knows how quickly they can cause trouble.
Even though these incidents happened after hours and off school property, Davidson said there can still be consequences.
“You’re never really in a place where you’re not accountable to an adult for how you behave,” he said. “If you do or say something over social media on a Saturday that will cause another student to feel uncomfortable at school, the school is able to act on that.”
Fischer said anyone involved in a fight, or watching as a bystander, could also face charges under the Criminal Code.
He and Davidson say the most important thing anyone can do in a case like this, is tell someone.
“Bystanders, people who are not participating in those activities, are critical,” Davidson said.
“We always encourage kids to talk to us and it goes with anything,” Fischer said. “We encourage it with the bullying aspect, we’re encouraging it with things called ‘the fight club’.”
