Heavy Police Presence Expected At Pittsburgh's University Prep After Melee
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Public School District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh says there will be a lot of police keeping an eye on University Prep school in the Hill District on Tuesday.
She says both school and city police will be beefing up school patrols after Monday's brawl at the school which involved 30 girls. According to Pugh, criminal charges will be filed in some cases, but she couldn't say how many teenagers will be cited criminally.
Pugh said she expects the District Administration to make a number of recommendations to the School Board regarding plans to make the school safer.
The fight on Monday broke out just before 10 a.m. involving four or five girls, and then it escalated as other teens got involved and turned it into a melee.
No serious injuries were reported; however, some students suffered cuts, bruises and scratches. One suffered an asthma attack.
Besides the students, one teacher, a school security guard and a city police officer also sustained minor injuries trying to restore order when the fights erupted.
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Parent Jesscica Thrower, whose daughter is in the ninth grade at University Prep, said, "These kids are not safe. They have to do something [about these disturbances], it's crazy and it's very sad. "
Thrower said her daughter got cut on the head.
"She got clobbered, and then all her friends came to her aide," Thrower said.
School officials say the fighting involved groups of girls from the Hill District and from the Garfield neighborhood.