Officials in Eureka are investigating, parents are arguing and the police chief is asking everyone to “take a deep breath” after a middle school student was taped attacking another girl on campus.

Video of the Friday incident, which was posted to Facebook on Sunday, shows the girl standing behind the other before she suddenly grabs her by the hair and slams her to the ground. The two then tussle for a moment before others rushed in and stopped the fight.

Police Chief Andy Mills, who was a former San Diego Police Department captain, posted a note to his Facebook page on Sunday addressing the videotaped assault.

“Violence and the glorification of it is never acceptable in our schools. The Superintendent and I have spoken on the phone about this and both are taking it very seriously. Thanks for the concern for our children,” wrote Mills.

His words sparked dozens of comments, most from angry parents who denounced the bullying, as well as comments from the attacker’s mother who was upset that the video was posted on social media in the first place. The mom said her daughter is now being vilified online and that she, a single mom with two kids and two jobs is being “parent shamed” by strangers.

“Nothing that happened in that video was good, but trust assured this was the end of weeks of difficulty with this girl,” wrote the mom. “She handled it wrong, but this is a matter between CHILDREN and adults harassing a child online in not cool either!”

That was quickly followed by this response.

“So… what you’re saying is your bully daughter is being bullied and it’s not acceptable to you?”

After more comments, lots of blame and finger-pointing, Mills stepped back into the fray and admonished everyone to stop.

“Could everyone take a deep breath? Your kids are watching you,” wrote the chief. “If we as adults cannot be civil, how can they? We have a great opportunity to turn this into a teachable moment.”

The department later issued a statement that said an officer had met with the victim’s grandmother and the girl after she was taken to an emergency room to be checked out and that the case was being actively investigated.

“We understand this video has outraged many in our community and rightfully so. It is vital that parents speak to their children about bullying and violence in our schools. These acts are not tolerated and take away from the learning environment and therefore have no place in our schools.”

It ended by asking for information about the incident as well as for the identity of the person who filmed it.

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