PINE HILLS, Fla. — Cellphone video sent to Channel 9 shows a large fight taking place at a McDonald’s in Pine Hills. In it, you see dozens of teens wearing backpacks gathered in the parking lot as fists fly and people are thrown to the ground.
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It happened on Silver Star Road near Pine Hills Road. Witnesses said the group came from Evans High School after school ended for the day.
“It breaks my heart,” said Sandra Fatmi-Hall, the Executive Director of United Foundation Central Florida. “It breaks my heart because when you’re trying your best to make a change and improve our community and pour into our young people and give them choices to take another path it’s very disturbing to see the video.”
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UFCF is a non-profit focused on addressing after school needs and early intervention.
Fatmi-Hall also operates the largest after school program at Evans High School.
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“I think that everyone should have something to do after school, because there’s a saying ‘the devil finds work for idle hands’ and that’s what you saw in that video,” said Fatmi-Hall.
The area where this took place has had issues in the past with large groups of students from Evans High School skipping class and hanging out at businesses.
Earlier this month, some business owners told us they were forced to lock their doors to keep the students out.
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The woman who shot the cell phone video, didn’t want to speak on camera, but told our crews it took three calls to 911 and about 11 minutes for a deputy to show up. She was frustrated at how long it took.
But Fatmi-Hall says that delay is unusual.
“They’re out here every single day,” she said.
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Fatmi-Hall told us the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been actively helping address the issues in the area.
“I think it’s made a huge difference or else you probably see more fights,” she said.
We reached out to OCSO and Orange County Public Schools to learn more about what happened. We are still waiting to hear back.
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