Repeated Violence Erupts Between Students At Bronx High Schools
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The archdiocese says Catholic school students in the Bronx are being targeted by students from a nearby public school.
Now, the school is taking extreme measures.
Anxious mothers waited to pick up their sons at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx on Tuesday.
"I'm thinking about the safety of my son," one told CBS2's Jessica Borg.
A brawl broke out last week between Cardinal Hayes students and the nearby Mott Haven public school.
Students at the all-boys private Catholic school said they're still being threatened.
"I pay a lot of money to bring him here because it's a safe place, and to hear that, it's mind boggling," Yessica Braswell said.
Cardinal Hayes dismissed students early last Friday -- sending a letter home to parents explaining it was because of 'earlier incidents on the Grand Concourse.'
"It was like nerve-wracking to know that that happened at our school," one parent said.
The Archdiocese of New York said the rivalry began as a one-on-one fight over a girl. A Cardinal Hayes student had a conversation with a particular girl from a nearby public school and that upset another boy from that school.
Officials said the angry student targeted a random Cardinal Hayes freshman last Thursday afternoon and beat him up.
The fight apparently didn't end there.
A group of boys from the public school came back afterward and fought with Cardinal Hayes students on the Grand Concourse.
"Some of my friends got hurt, they got beat up," Jonathan Lopez said, "They had bruises on their faces and everything."
The fight happened in front of businesses, including Ahmad Hawari's furniture store.
"Police officers every where. It was like crowded here in the streets," he said.
Cardinal Hayes has now made temporary changes in their dismissal.
"Now we have the cops surrounding us. They want to protect us more. We've started to leave 10 minutes earlier, so nothing bad can happen," Edward Alemany said.
Faculty members are escorting students to subways and bus stops. Parents said they might pick their sons up even earlier in the coming days.