11 Students Arrested In NE High School Fight
OAKLAND PARK (CBS4) - Nearly a dozen students were led away in handcuffs Wednesday morning after a large fight broke out at Northeast High School in Oakland Park.
Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dani Moschella said deputies were sent to the school in the 700 block of NE 56th Street after they received a call from a school resource officer about a fight involving dozens of students in a hallway outside the cafeteria.
Arriving deputies were able to break up the fight and eleven students were arrested. Most of them were charged with disrupting a school function, but a few may be charged with battery. Moschella said it appears the fight, which broke out just after second period, centered around a cell phone.
CBS4's Peter D'Oench spoke with one of the students who were arrested for the fight. NE High School sophomore Hunter Petitdiou described the fight as being more than the typical school skirmish.
"It was a riot; everyone was fighting and because they wanted to punish anyone who might have been involved or was near it, everyone went to jail," Petitdiou said. "This is not the first time there was a fight. There was a much smaller fight on November 23, and I think they were looking to punish everyone involved in that fight as well."
Other students said the fight was akin to the front few rows at a hard rock concert.
"It started with just two people and then someone jumped in and then other people (jumped in) and I guess it was like a big mosh pit," said NE High senior Stephanie Baldwin.
"These students have to realize that fighting like this is a very serious matter and there are consequences," Moschella said. "Today, as a result of this, nearly a dozen students were arrested and taken to Juvenile Assessment Center."
Broward schools spokeswoman Marsy Smith said those charged will be suspended for ten days pending an investigation into the fight. And while Petitdiou may not agree with it, he did accept responsibility for his role.
"It's not fair that everyone arrested faces being suspended for 10 days, but we have to accept it, it is what it is."
