It was all hands on deck for Reading’s finest as they were called on to disperse an after-school fight involving hundreds of students in City Park.
Officers converged on the park for what they said was supposed to be a “pre-planned” scuffle involving a small number of female Reading Intermediate High School students.
It ended up, police said, erupting into a brawl involving between 350 and 400 students in the park, which is located across the street from the school.
“It was a very large-scale fight, which pretty much took all of our resources to handle,” said Capt. Madison Winchester, Reading Police Department. “We ended up getting about 10 juveniles in custody. The determination was made to remove them fairly quickly from the area to make sure that we wouldn’t prolong the event.”
The students involved were transported to the rear of Reading City Hall, where city EMS crews were dispatched to treat those who were sprayed by police with pepper spray, Winchester said.
Two police officers were injured as a result of the fight. One was punched in the face by a student in the park; another was kicked in the groin by a parent at City Hall, Winchester said.
“The biggest problem with these kinds of situations is not so much once we gain control of the people who are fighting, but it’s the people who come to watch and then don’t disperse and try to interfere,” Winchester said. “Emotions run high when you see a family, relative get arrested, or a dear friend get arrested.”
Police said the arrested students would be charged with harassment and disorderly conduct. They were either released to the custody of their parents or processed through the court system.
“It was complete Armageddon. It was horrible,” said Sharon Bates, a witness. “It was a madhouse. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I saw a lot of chaos,” said Javier Vargas, another witness. “A lot of girls fighting, a lot of guys fighting. They’re also jumping on the police officers. These kids don’t care about nothing.”
Reading School District Superintendent Khalid Mumin released the following statement in response to the fight:
“I am disheartened by the events that occurred today in City Park involving students of the Reading School District.
“At this time, district officials are actively investigating the incident and making plans to meet with local law enforcement agencies, community partners, and district personnel to discuss a systemic plan to address the disappointing behavior of a select group of students.
“Our continuing investigation is revealing this was a planned fight between two students, and that led to a major disruption involving bystanders and adults. This is not only a student/school issue, thus, it will require all-hands-on deck response from the district, police, parents, guardians and the community at large.
“The safety of our students is of paramount importance, and it is going to take a tremendous, continual shift in our community’s mindset to swiftly address, limit and eliminate incidents of this magnitude in the future. We all need to work together in the best interest of our students.”
Folks in the neighborhood told 69 News that it wasn’t the first time they’ve observed violence among students at dismissal time.
“They need to do something real bad with that school ’cause it’s gonna get worse,” said Vargas.
“It’s just never-ending,” said Bates.