Security was ramped up Tuesday at a Los Angeles high school after dozens of students were caught on video participating in a lunchtime brawl the day before.
Students at Sylmar High School recorded video footage on their cellphones Monday when a massive fight broke out between as many as 40 students.
Twelve officers and a supervisor with the Los Angeles Unified School Police were needed to break up the fight, and law enforcement is actively investigating the incident, Los Angeles’s NBC affiliate reported.
The outdoor brawl lasted roughly 20 minutes and resulted in injuries for a dozen students, officials with the Los Angeles Unified School District told the L.A. Daily News. The injuries were described as minor, and no students required hospitalization.
Schools superintendent Michelle King denounced the students’ actions in a Tuesday morning statement and acknowledged that the school had increased security measures as a result of the incident.
“As head of the most diverse school district in the nation, let me be very clear: we will not tolerate targeting or violence of any kind in our campuses,” Ms. King said. “We want to reassure parents that the safety of all students and staff remains our top priority.”
James Lee, the principal of the Sylmar High, said in a statement that several students who participated in the fight had been identified and disciplinary action had been taken.
Mr. Lee told L.A. School Report that an after-party following the senior prom last weekend gave way to a dispute that escalated with Monday’s fight.
“This was an incident that just snowballed, and it had to do with a dispute with people outside of our school community,” he said. “We had one of the most beautiful proms ever and I was there until after midnight. This dispute started at a party after that and with people not at our school.”
According to Daily News, some students said the fight was racially motivated, though others refuted the claim.
“Some kid at the prom got beat up for some reason and I guess he wanted revenge,” one Sylmar student said, KTLA reported.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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