ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A Hazelwood East High School student remains in critical condition Monday night and a 15-year-old girl is in juvenile custody after a disturbing fight near the school's campus.
Video of that attack from Friday afternoon has gone viral on social media.
The 15-year-old suspect is currently being held by St. Louis County Family Court on assault charges, but experts say that could change.
The video, which 5 On Your Side is not showing due to its graphic nature, captured a student's head being smashed into the pavement repeatedly.
Related: Student hospitalized after violent brawl near Hazelwood East High School, suspect in custody
Tina Meier, founder and executive director of the Megan Meier Foundation, lost her 13-year-old daughter who died by suicide after excessive bullying in 2006. Her story in O'Fallon, Missouri, gained national attention.
Now Meier is teaching teenagers how to de-escalate their differences without violence. She travels across the country teaching kids how to speak to adults they trust about their anger so it doesn't reach a boiling point, educating them as early as 5th grade.
Watching the viral Hazelwood cellphone video, "it was horrifying," Meier said. "Watching all of those kids standing around."
The victim and suspect's names haven't been released because they are both minors.
That's a requirement by state law, said Dr. Dyan McGuire, director of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Saint Louis University,
In order for a case like this to escalate outside of juvenile court, McGuire said, "for very serious offensives the statue provides for an automatic hearing to see if this child is an appropriate subject of juvenile jurisdiction court or not."
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said on social media Sunday:
"This is sickening and so difficult to watch. In Missouri, by law our office has no jurisdiction. This is a Juvenile court matter, unless it is certified...and by law, certification is not our decision either. We pray the victim makes a full recovery. This is just heartbreaking."
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a social media post Sunday that the suspect should be tried as an adult.
The certification decision is up to the juvenile court officials. A hearing date hasn't been announced. McGuire said if the victim were to die, the suspect could be facing first- or second-degree murder charges.
"When you put something out on social media and it goes viral, and it is as horrific as this was, now you're going to get the aftermath of people are going to be saying things," Meier said. "The social media is going to continue. It's already on TMZ."