Pepper spray used after food fight at Las Vegas high school

School police used pepper spray to break up a food fight that turned physical at a northeast Las Vegas Valley high school Thursday afternoon.

A physical fight broke out about noon Thursday at Rancho High School, 1900 E. Searles Ave., after a lunchtime food fight, said Clark County School District Police Department acting Capt. Roberto Morales. After students did not listen to officers’ verbal commands, police used pepper spray, he said.

“Officers attempted to break it up by normal means,” Morales said. “That’s what they needed to do to bring the situation under control.”

It was unclear how many students were involved in the fight. The high school was not placed on lockdown, Morales said.

Also Thursday, a fight with “racial overtones” broke out at Western High School, Morales said. The school was placed on lockdown for about an hour.

The fight at Western started in the quad area around 11:40 a.m., and pepper spray was also used by police, he said. The school has a history of racially motivated fights; 45 to 50 people pepper-sprayed last month in a similar brawl.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.