Brawl near Woodstock high school caught on camera

Students are seen fighting in Woodstock, Ont. as others look on in this image taken from video posted on YouTube.

Disturbing video that shows six girls savagely attacking each other just steps away from St. Mary's Catholic High School has prompted school officials to take action.

The brawl was captured on video and then posted on YouTube by one of the many students who were reportedly watching and cheering.

It happened outside the Woodstock District Community Complex about two weeks ago.

There are no reports of major injuries and the school isn't releasing details about punishments, but students tell CTV News the girls involved have been given three-day suspensions.

Students are also brushing off the incident as nothing major. Grade 12 student Glen Pretty witnessed the brawl and says "We have fights at least twice a week for sure."

That may be part of the so-called bystander effect or mob mentality, and while students know that's what is happening, they say they never considered stopping the fight.

"People like the attention, and they fight and they think they're cool from fighting," Pretty says.

Student Brandon Walsh says he posted the video on the YouTube website. He was among those who watched, but made no attempt to stop it.

Walsh says he posted it for the views, but won't be uploading any new videos after he had a conversation with the Woodstock Police Service.

"They just asked me to be more conscious of what I post on YouTube."

Ana Paula Fernandes, the principal at St. Mary's, says the school is investigating the fight and won't be releasing any details.

"When they are here at St. Mary's during school hours, whether it's on school property or off, we ensure that we follow up on any matters."

Woodstock police have not launched investigation though, because they haven't received an official complaint about the alleged altercation.

If they receive one, police say they will use the posted videos as investigative tools.

Woodstock Police Acting Staff Sgt. Marvin Massecar says "They're posted quite frequently and it's a disturbing trend at the very least."

Police in Woodstock say they've been called to 15 school fights in the last month, and while that number isn't growing, social media is making the fights more public.