Footage of the altercation, which surfaced on Snapchat earlier this week before spreading to other social media platforms, shows the three students engaged in a round of fisticuffs before the school administrator steps into the cafeteria fight, which broke out at roughly 7:10 a.m. local time.
Failing to break apart the warring parties, Oakville High School Assistant Principal Brian Brennan is seen repeatedly getting punched and kicked as other students look on. Two of the arrested minors were 16 years old, and the third was 15.
Prior to being whisked away by officials from the St. Louis County Police, all three teenagers were treated by the school nurse for minor injuries. Brennan was taken to a nearby urgent care facility.
Oakville High School later sent a letter home to parents to inform them what occured on school grounds.
"This morning before school started, there was a fight in the school cafeteria involving three students. Several administrators intervened and broke up the fight," the letter reads. "We understand that video of the fight has been shared on social media, and we've received several calls checking on the welfare of our staff and students. All of our staff and students are OK."
"We are investigating the matter, and discipline will be rendered as detailed in our district disciplinary policy," it added, noting that the school district's mission is to build a "culture of improvement for staff and students."
Jessica Pupillo, the director of communications for the Mehlville School District, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday that student safety is of utmost importance to administrators. "I can tell you we take all incidents like this very seriously," she said.
As for Brennan's current status, he's already back at work. Photos shared on the school's Twitter account show him interacting with several students during Halloween-themed festivities.
— Oakville High School (@OHS_Tigers) November 1, 2018
— Oakville High School (@OHS_Tigers) November 1, 2018
The offending students are expected to appear in St. Louis County Family Court. Though no charges will be filed since they are minors, they will be expelled from the school, Missouri station FOX 2 reported.