A high school principal in Virginia is taking heat for a controversial photo, but school administrators say the image has been misconstrued.

The photo in question shows five male Brunswick High School students in a school bathroom, posing for a photo. The students are making hand gestures that some observers claim are gang signs.

In the far right of the photo, Principal Warren Bell can be seen, also making a hand gesture.

While some outraged parents claim the principal is flashing a gang sign along with the students, Superintendent Dora Wynn says the principal was actually gesturing for the students to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior.

The angry parents are not satisfied with that explanation, however, and want the principal suspended or fired, according to a local news report.

For their part, the five students in the photo claim they are not a gang and were not making gang signs.

The incident is still under investigation.

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

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