Locke High School locked down after huge brawl

As many as 600 students at Locke High School fought in a lunchtime brawl that has left the campus locked down and four students arrested, police and school officials said this afternoon.

The campus was locked down after the fight broke out shortly after 1 p.m. as students were returning from lunch to their fifth-period classes. Overwhelmed school officials called Los Angeles police for help about 15 minutes later. School officials separated Latino students from black students who had not yet made it to their next period.

“The kids were crazy, running from place to place jumping on other kids,” said Reggie Smith, a music teacher who said he ran to pull his students from the melee. “Some of my kids were crying because they were walking to class with kids and they got jumped. The officers on campus were overwhelmed. You didn’t know the kids who are good” from those trying to cause trouble, he said.

At the campus, well over a dozen LAPD cruisers were parked outside as officers investigated.

On a campus where daily fights are common, Locke football coach Wayne Crawford said today’s incident stood out.

Several Los Angeles Unified School District campuses have had brawls between black and Latino students. In 2005, Jefferson High School was the setting for weeks of clashes.

The LAPD said officials aren’t sure what prompted the disturbance.

 howard.blume@latimes.com

 jessica.garrison@latimes.com