High school administrators are duty bound to break up fights between students. Doing so can put them in harm’s way. In a fight Monday, an assistant principal tried to break up a fight, but was tackled and beaten up by his students. Other students filmed the incident on their phones, but did nothing to stop the attack.

The fight happened at Oakville High School in Missouri. Vice Principal Brian Brennan tried to break up the fight, but was pulled into the brawl, instead. While the students kicked an punched him, others stood by cheering and recording the fight on their phones.

This video evidence has allowed authorities to make three arrests. One 15-year-old and two 16-year-old students have been taken into custody.

“Administrators and a school resource officer intervened to break the fight up. All students and staff are okay,” Assistant Superintendent, Dr Jeff Bressler told reporters.

“Obviously we take all fighting serious. We would love to see fighting stop in all high schools.”

“Safety is our priority and we’re always looking into how we can support students so they don’t resort to violence.”

After the fight, Brennan was taken to Urgent Care, but wasn’t hospitalized.

The fate of the students is unknown at this point. Because they are minors, the attackers have been remanded to St. Louis County Family Court.

After the attack, Principal Jan Kellerman sent a letter home to parents.

“We are investigating the matter and discipline will be rendered as detailed in our district disciplinary policy,” she wrote. This could result in expulsion.

“It’s the most important thing we do here and all our students are safe,” she told reporters after word of the fight began to spread.

“After any kind of altercation we always discuss things like is there something else we need to be doing.”