69°F
weather icon Windy

2 arrested, 9 cited in fights at area high school

Updated March 10, 2022 - 7:10 pm

One man and one juvenile were arrested Thursday, and nine other juveniles were cited after fights broke out at Desert Oasis High School.

The high school was locked down for a second consecutive day, Clark County School District wrote in a message to parents Thursday morning.

School district officials said that police were on campus addressing the fights and the school was under a “hard lockdown” for an unknown period of time.

“Students are safe in their classrooms,” the message read.

Student council member and Desert Oasis senior Shane Young, 17, said he witnessed nearly a dozen fights on campus this week, with many involving groups of four or five students ganging up on one.

“Today two grown men, parents, walked into Desert Oasis and fought children,” Young said.

Young said the school was on hard lockdown, meaning students were hiding in corners or under desks, for about 90 minutes after the two men came on campus around 10 a.m.

The students were in a soft lockdown for about 45 minutes before Young said many of his classmates left the campus and went home early.

“Students are scared honestly,” he said. “I have friends who suffer from anxiety and had panic attacks in class. No one wants to go back to school until we see some change.”

School district police Lt. Bryan Zink said one man was arrested and booked on battery and breach of peace; a juvenile was arrested and booked for fighting and breach of peace; another juvenile was cited for battery, fighting and breach of peace, and eight other juveniles were cited for fighting and breach of peace.

“We are aware of videos circulating on social media and encourage anyone with video or information to please share with with school staff,” Zink wrote in a message to the Review-Journal.

A video from Thursday shared with the Review-Journal showed at least four students in a brawl near a vending machine on campus and another fight involving several boys in the school’s parking lot.

Young said his fellow classmates and teachers plan to speak at the next School Board meeting, which is expected to discuss violence on campus.

Desert Oasis was locked down Wednesday for about two hours after a report of a student with a gun around 12:30 p.m., Zink said at the time.

School district police checked every room and questioned as many students as possible, Zink said, before determining there was no gun on campus, and no one was arrested.

No arrests were made Wednesday, Zink said.

Video sent to the Review-Journal showed a female student was detained in a classroom Wednesday. The girl asked to call her mother, but two officers continued to escort her out of the room with her hands behind her back.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST