Students Facing Charges After Brawl At Allderdice High School
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Charges have been filed against several students after a brawl at Allderdice High School.
The fight broke out Monday afternoon, and since then, cell phone video of it has surfaced on social media.
The melee erupted in a hallway, and it took school police and staff members about two minutes to break up the confrontations.
School District Spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said a number of students will be facing criminal charges as a result of the incident. She didn't say how many were in trouble.
Pugh estimated a dozen or so students were involved, but an Allderdice student who witnessed it said that estimate was low.
Foreign exchange student Aridz Coca, here from Spain, said, "I saw like 20 kids. I thought they were like two groups, like 10 and 10. They were like fighting each other really hard, it was like a real mess."
What prompted the brawl is not clear. One source said it appeared to involve rivalries between students from different neighborhoods.
No students or staff members were seriously hurt in the the fights.
Parents that KDKA talked to said they hadn't learned of the fights until Tuesday; and, although that was concerning, they thought their own children were safe.
"If there's a fight with 20 students, I'd like to know about it, that's for sure, but I don't have any concerns about my daughter's safety in school," parent Richard King said.
"I hadn't been notified of the event yesterday, but I feel that the school is safe, and I have been happy with the communication I had with Principal Dr. [James] McCoy and the school in the past," parent Venetia Pimley said.
Some other students face school disciplinary action.
Last month, a separate fight among six female students in a hallway at Allderdice High School landed a girl's stepfather in jail for allegedly threatening police.
Officials say Shawn Avant allegedly became combative, pointed his finger in an officer's face, and even took off his jacket, threatening to fight. At one point, witnesses say he spit on the officer.
A judge later dropped the charges against Avant, who was ordered to do community service instead.
Stay with KDKA for more on this developing story.
