Midfield High School students launch food fight, threaten walkout in protest of principal being sent away

MIDFIELD, Alabama 
A disturbance at Midfield High School that drew police from both Midfield and Fairfield this afternoon started when a group of students launched a food fight to protest the principal being sent away from school by the system's superintendent this morning, Midfield Superintendent Nikita Williams said this afternoon.

Midfield High School

Williams said she arrived at the school this morning after a 10th-grade student was found with an unloaded gun. She questioned Principal Hansel Gunn about safety procedures, including why the school had not been placed on lockdown, she said.
Williams, who has been trying unsuccessfully to remove Gunn as principal at the high school, said Gunn became belligerent, told her he was quitting and threatened to rally supporters, including parents, to his side.
"He told me 'If I have to go, you're going, too,'" Williams said.
Williams said she told Gunn to leave the school, prompting some students to later stage a protest in support of Gunn. About four to five students had signs in support of the principal and started a food fight in the lunchroom, she said. Teachers quickly got the situation under control, but police from both Midfield and Fairfield, were called in to provide extra security, she said.
Some students later threatened to walk out in protest but went back to class after being told they could face the possibility of arrest if they left the campus, Williams said. Numerous students called their parents, who picked them up from school early, and school officials dismissed for the day about 2:45 p.m. -- 15 minutes early, Williams said.
There will be additional security at Midfield High School on Thursday morning, Williams said. School officials also will deal with the students who staged the protest, she said. Gunn has been placed on administrative leave until further investigation, Williams said.
Williams has been at odds with several school board members about personnel decisions, including her desire to remove Gunn as principal at the high school -- a move the school board has blocked on more than one occasion.