By Ani Torosyan
A fight occurred during lunch in the upper quad on Wednesday causing lunch to be curtailed and a lockdown in place including at Toll and Keppel. Around two dozen police officers were brought to the scene. Once the 90-minute lockdown was over, students were released from school classroom by classroom, a process that took a while to complete.
Although the number of students involved in the fracas was unclear, videos posted on social media show several students. The cause of the fight was also unknown.
“It started to get out of hand immediately and was difficult to contain over time,” a witness said.
Principal Jennifer Earl and Assistant Principal Mary Mardirosian were attending a conference in Sacramento when this incident occurred, but quickly returned to campus upon learning of it. Resource Officer Vlad Akopian was also out for training at the same time.
Earl sent out an email and phone call to all teachers, students, and parents saying that “the incident was resolved quickly, there were no weapons involved and no significant injuries occurred.”
She also promised extra support on campus throughout the week with the assistance of GPD, counselors and GUSD Personnel.
Glendale Unified District sent out an email that said “with the intention of maintaining student safety we coordinated quickly with community partners at the Glendale Police Department.”
We interviewed one of the students involved in the fight. However, he couldn’t say much because he was still traumatized. “It was like a war,”he said. “My sister was in tears.”
Another student who chose to remain anonymous also reported that “it was still one of the scariest experiences to be hurried to classrooms and try to figure out what’s happening behind locked doors.”
Please check back for updates to this story as we gather more information.
Updates 10/5/18 at 12:05: Varsity Football game vs Pasadena is canceled today. Glendale Police Department will remain a presence on campus.
Updates 10/10/18 at 2:58: Varsity Football game vs Burroughs this Thursday is canceled. Two coaches have been placed on administrative leave and twenty-four students have been suspended so far.
Credit: Emily Nadimyan