Food Fight Triggers Riot at Minneapolis School
By: KARE
Updated: February 15, 2013
(KARE) Minneapolis South High School will be in session Friday, the day after police used chemical spray to break up a brawl involving hundreds of students.
Rachel Hicks says the school will be implementing a "safety plan to ensure a safe environment for learning." This comes after a food fight in the school's lunch area escalated into a physical fight involving dozens of students.
Minneapolis Police Sgt. William Palmer says two school liason officers and more than twenty staff members tried to break up the fight, but it was more than they could handle.
Dozens of police officers were called in to help. When they arrived, Palmer says they sprayed mace into the air to disperse the crowd. Palmer says mace was not directly sprayed at any students.
The spokesperson for the Hennepin County EMS says five people, including three students and two staff members, were transported to local hospitals for treatment. One staff member was reportedly hit in the head with an object thrown by a student. Fifteen more people were evaluated at the scene by paramedics.
Students described Thursday's chaotic scene.
"It was a stampede, people running away from the fight, people running towards it," said Khalali Johnson, a junior at the school.
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