Sheriff to give update Friday on deadly SC classroom fight

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. — The sheriff investigating the death of a 10-year-old South Carolina girl injured in a classroom fight will speak  about the investigation for the first time in weeks.

The Colleton County Sheriff's Office will hold a news conference at 10:15 a.m. Friday in the town of Walterboro to discuss the death of Raniya Wright. 

RELATED: Investigation into death of girl in SC classroom 'could take weeks'

The fight broke out on Monday, March 25 in a classroom at Forest Hills Elementary School in Walterboro. The Colleton County School District said teachers ended the fight as quickly as possible, and called for EMS. Both of the students involved were fifth-graders.  

RELATED: 'Justice for my daughter': Dad of SC girl who died in classroom fight wants answers

The report says Wright made it to the nurse's station, and when deputies arrived, the girl was unconscious but breathing.  She was taken to a Colleton County hospital for treatment, but later was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Around mid-morning Wednesday, she passed away.   

One student was suspended in connection with the incident. 

RELATED: Community angry with lack of answers in death of 5th grader at SC school

Since then, there's been little information on her death. On March 29, Colleton County Sheriff Andy Strickland said it could take weeks to make a determination in the case. He also announced that an initial autopsy reached no conclusions, saying final results would have to come later. Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone, the chief prosecutor for the region, said at the time he didn't know if criminal charges would even be needed in the case.  

RELATED: 'An angel returned home': SC child killed in classroom fight laid to rest

While investigators have said almost nothing, State Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, who represents Walterboro, caused a stir when she made comments on the case earlier this month. The lawmaker claimed the two students involved were involved in a scuffle with pushing and shoving, not a full on fight with kicking and beating. She said the confrontation lasted less than a minute. 

RELATED: Mom's attorney responds to senator's comments on deadly SC classroom fight

That upset Raniya's mother, Ashley Wright, and the mom's attorney issued a statement calling Matthews' comments "disheartening and deeply regrettable."

Law enforcement never backed up any of the statements in Matthews' comments, and she has said nothing further on the death since then.