Teens, adults get into ‘really ugly’ fight at kindergarten graduation
A fight that broke out after a kindergarten graduation in Cleveland on Friday -- reportedly over spilled punch -- escalated into a brawl that led to eight arrests, authorities said.
Families had gathered at Michael R. White Elementary School, a K-8 school, to celebrate the kindergarteners’ promotion to first grade. About 11 a.m., a call came in reporting a large fight with shots fired, said Cmdr. Wayne Drummond of the Cleveland Police Department. Officers arrived to find people fighting in front of the school.
Two teenage girls appear to have gotten in a fistfight while leaving the building after the ceremony, Drummond said. Family members from both sides joined in.
During the fight, one person pulled out a hammer, and another a club or a stick, Drummond said.
“It just turned really ugly, really fast,” he said.
Cleveland City Councilman Jeff Johnson, who lives across the street from the school, said that spilled punch sparked the fight, the Associated Press reported.
No one was injured, and police brought the fight under control. Eight people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated rioting, though more were involved in the fight, Drummond said. One of those arrested was a juvenile.
The report of shots fired turned out to be false, and no guns were involved in the incident, Drummond said.
The school went on lockdown in response to the incident.
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