CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A 12-year-old girl was knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital after getting into a fistfight with a 15-year-old student in the parking lot of Elkview Middle School early Monday.

The two juvenile females apparently got off the same school bus Monday morning and started to fight with each other, said Kanawha County Sheriff's Department Lt. Bryan Stover.

The 15-year-old girl apparently hit the younger girl multiple times and knocked her to the ground, where she fell unconscious, Stover said.

Deputies and school officials were unclear if a punch from the older girl knocked the 12-year-old unconscious, or if she struck her head when she hit the ground.

The younger girl was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but Stover said she has only minor cuts and bruises and no serious injuries.

The 15-year-old was immediately suspended from school, and the sheriff's department will be filing a juvenile petition for battery against her.

So far, deputies are unclear what started the fight.