SANTA PAULA : Student, 15, Arrested After Campus Melee

A 15-year-old Santa Paula student was arrested Wednesday after a melee involving 70 to 100 youths at Santa Paula Union High School, police said.

No one was hurt during the incident that occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m., Santa Paula Police Cmdr. Mark Hanson said.

The melee broke out after four students from Camarillo walked onto the Santa Paula campus looking for an acquaintance who attended the high school, Hanson said. The youths’ car had run out of gas and they wanted to borrow money.

As the four walked down Palm Court, which divides the center of campus, some Santa Paula High School students began calling out the names of their neighborhood streets and throwing rocks.

“It was more territorial than gang-related,” Hanson said.

Police arrested a 15-year-old Santa Paula High School student on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon by throwing rocks. Police planned to arrest another Santa Paula student on similar charges, Hanson said. He also said the Camarillo boys’ car tires were slashed during the melee, but no arrests were made in that offense.

The Camarillo youths were escorted from campus, and Hanson said the group might be cited for illegally entering school grounds. Six Santa Paula police officers and a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy responded to the incident, Hanson said.