By Christine McCarthy
WACO- Several University High School students could be cited or arrested for their involvement in a brawl on school grounds Friday.
A planned fight was to take place between two male students at a local park on Thursday night but the two ended up throwing punches at the end of lunch in the school cafeteria around 1:30 on Friday afternoon, according to Waco I.S.D. spokesman Dale Caffey.
The fight eventually moved out to the courtyard, where a group of the students' friends were nearby. When the bell rang and a girlfriend of a student in the group tried to leave the area, she was pushed and another separate fight erupted, Caffey said.
Waco I.S.D. Police arrived to break up the fight and needed to pepper spray one student who was not directly involved in the fight but was preventing an officer from intervening, according to Caffey.
No one was badly hurt, but police detained 10 to 12 students of various ages who were believed to be involved. Some were handcuffed and officers questioned them at the school while they awaited being picked up by their parents.
School police were reviewing security video to determine who was involved in the fight and what they did. Caffey said police work is expected to be complete by late next week, and police will then cite or arrest the appropriate fight participants.
Police were initially investigating whether the fight was gang-related, but determined the brawl was most likely not, although those fighting could be members of local gangs.
A disciplinary conference is being held on Friday night for parents of the students to attend. A decision to send those who were involved to the nearby alternative school could happen as early as Friday night. Those students would then need to begin the alternative education program on Monday morning.
Immediately after the fight, the entire school was placed under lock-down for an hour and twenty minutes.
