High school food fight turns into enormous brawl
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A food fight quickly turned into a brawl involving hundreds of students at a Minneapolis high school on Thursday, forcing police to use chemical spray to break up the melee.
Four people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, including a staff member who was hit in the head with a bottle, according to the school and police.
The 15-minute fracas broke out during lunchtime at South High School. No weapons were used, but about 200 to 300 students were involved, Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Bill Palmer said.
Students were throwing food, plates, pop bottles - "anything they could get their hands on" - at school staff and police, Palmer said.
A dozen officers responded to the scene and used chemical spray to break up the fight, he added. School officials said police used chemical spray in the air above the crowd, though several students complained of the spray's effects.
Student Council President Connor Bass told the Star Tribune that the scene was "chaos," with five or six fights going on simultaneously.
"When the cops came and started spraying Mace it was just pandemonium with people trying to run away," Bass said.
No arrests were made, but police plan to review surveillance video, which may lead to charges, Palmer said.
The school was put on lockdown after the fight, meaning students had to stay in their classrooms. The school dismissed at the regular time, and afternoon athletics went ahead as scheduled.
South High School has about 2,000 students in ninth through 12th grades.
Four people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, including a staff member who was hit in the head with a bottle, according to the school and police.
The 15-minute fracas broke out during lunchtime at South High School. No weapons were used, but about 200 to 300 students were involved, Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Bill Palmer said.
Students were throwing food, plates, pop bottles - "anything they could get their hands on" - at school staff and police, Palmer said.
A dozen officers responded to the scene and used chemical spray to break up the fight, he added. School officials said police used chemical spray in the air above the crowd, though several students complained of the spray's effects.
Student Council President Connor Bass told the Star Tribune that the scene was "chaos," with five or six fights going on simultaneously.
"When the cops came and started spraying Mace it was just pandemonium with people trying to run away," Bass said.
No arrests were made, but police plan to review surveillance video, which may lead to charges, Palmer said.
The school was put on lockdown after the fight, meaning students had to stay in their classrooms. The school dismissed at the regular time, and afternoon athletics went ahead as scheduled.
South High School has about 2,000 students in ninth through 12th grades.
them dang honor roll kids is like wild animals. staff should carryin tranquilizer darts
If they aren't rioting in school they are flash robbing a store.
Just chain the doors shut and pump the room full of car exhaust. It's time to purge violent anarchy from the species for the protection of our good, civil, polite society.Â
How much fun would it have been to huck a nest of angry hornets into the room? Maybe just a couple of M-80s. That's what my dad would have done. It would have looked like a Stephen King movie...how gansta are 300 sobbing urban hoodlums bleeding from the ears and eyeballs? "Claaaaaaass. Come to order please.   ...Thank you."
The Romans would have used lions. Our people lack the will toward self-preservation of Persia, Egypt, Sparta, China and Rome. We have the silly notion that it's better to catch and release bullies and predators, and to punish those who simply seek to preserve themselves. I hate what Americans are becoming, and I have never had to spank my child. The nuns who teach her have taught her the principles of respect, tolerance, mercy and order. We do not go to church, but, I find the humble and graceful way of these women of faith to be superior in all ways to the society that we are becoming.
They should be made to sit on the floor and eat crackers and water until every student involved submits a written apology to the students and staff. That, or whippings. It worked for Sparta.
C'mon, K2... Aren't you going to lament the responding officers obviously excessive use of force?
They should have whipped out rainbow stickers and used puppy fart spray and asked the participants to pretty, pretty please stop being so mean to each other.
"though several students complained of the spray's effects.'
....Don't want fleas, don't hang around with dogs.Â
"though several students complained of the spray's effects."
Well if you act like an idiot or animal out of control, you get what you need. What happened to respect in the schools? Too bad for those that were injured. Those that decided to have the fight need charges brought against them.
The future of America.
now lets throw a couple armed "security" guards into that situation, and see how that brawl would have turned out....
 armed guards with guns dont belong in schools.
@Rey Arteb You don't belong in schools either, d-bag. At least guards are capable of making those kinds of decisions. You'd be followed, questions and possible even incarcerated for being on the premises during the school day. Probably for the best.
My brother in law is an armed police officer at a major midwestern university. There are armed guards at Reynolds High School. There are armed guards at MHCC.Â
Typical suburban liberal ignorance. All The World's a Strip Mall, and We Are Merely Shoppers.
armed guards...like the d-bag over in vancouver shooting that kid 4 times in the chest as he's backing away? no weapon....not in is house...just out in the street...yup...that warrented all 4 shots.
@Rey Arteb
For sure. Cops are the only ones that can trusted with guns.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/la-now-live-a-daily-conversation-with-the-times-newsroom-1.html
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/ex-cop-manhunt-newspaper-delivery-women-shot.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKy-WSZMklc&feature=related Grabbed his gun instead of his taser.
Yup, only cops should have guns because they can be trusted.
Hey, no guns were pulled, it's all good.
I could take a guess on this one but.....
Yesterday it was a "mom" helping her daughter with a beat down at a school.
This will be no different when it comes to the participants.
What happened to a few fun foods like mashed potatoes and green peas?