Fight among 200 brawlers at Louisiana HS ends in 10 arrests

An explosive fight at a Louisiana high school among nearly 200 students and parents ended with several cops injured and at least 10 arrests.

Swarms of police officers responded early March 8 to a “major campus disturbance” at East Baton Rouge Readiness Alternative School, finding a loaded gun abandoned on the ground, WBRZ reported.

Officials say one fight broke out and escalated, spilling out into the school’s courtyard and gym. By the time police arrived, there were about 200 people involved in brawls across the campus.

Videos of the chaos taken inside the school’s gym show chairs getting tossed and students being detained by law enforcement.

One shocking video shows a sheriff’s deputy forcefully hitting a student’s face into a brick wall. The officer was trying to arrest a 17-year-old student, authorities said.

Police said the teen had punched the officer in the face and tried to bite him, which led to the aggressive encounter captured on video. The teen was among those charged with battery on an officer and resisting arrest.

Officials have not yet determined what triggered the massive melee at the school, which enrolls students who’ve been previously suspended or expelled from other district schools.

The NAACP released a statement Wednesday saying it was reviewing videos from the incident to decide if the aggressive police response captured on video was appropriate.

The fight allegedly started with a small group of students but escalated into a larger clash involving parents and students fighting police as well.

One witness told WBRZ the brawl erupted when a girl who wasn’t a student at the school and her mom showed up to fight another girl — and that it escalated from there.

Students were allegedly locked inside the gym during the fight. One responding police officer sustained injuries including a broken hip and head lacerations.

Also among those arrested were three students charged with battery on a police officer, a felony.

Five other students were arrested for disturbing the peace, including an 18-year-old girl who was arrested on counts of unlawful disruption of the operation of a school and resisting arrest, and a 17-year-old girl hit with disturbing the peace and resisting arrest. 

All of those arrested were students between 15 and 18. None of the parents or other adults at the scene were taken into custody.