Fight puts Burbank High on alert

A fight near Burbank High School on Thursday led to student suspensions and an increased police presence at the campus on Friday.

The cause of the fight that occurred about two blocks from the campus at around 3:35 p.m. Thursday was still under investigation, and school officials declined to say how many students had been suspended.

“As a precautionary measure, we asked Burbank Police Department to have an increased presence on campus [Friday],” said Principal Bruce Osgood. “We wanted to avoid any spill-over effects.”

Students reported fights Friday, but school officials disputed those accounts, saying administrators had taken several precautionary measures to prevent more violence, including cutting the lunch period short and calling in additional police units. Officials also closed the campus after 3 p.m., except for athletic events.

“A minor altercation occurred on campus, and Burbank police were on scene to support the school staff,” said Police Lt. Eric Rosoff. “No administrative or police action was taken today.”

Once the students saw the police officers, most of them just went to class, he added.

Burbank Unified Supt. Stan Carrizosa said the lunch hour was cut short Friday by about 10 minutes to minimize the time students had to cause disruptions after they finished eating.

“The school wanted to make sure the friends of students involved in the fight didn’t carry that over to today,” Carrizosa said. “The school was not on lockdown yesterday or today.”

But some students, who did want to give their names, said the minor altercation Friday involved dozens of students.

Osgood said students stuck to their friend groups throughout the day.

“Students were thinking something might happen and moved around in large groups to check and see what was going on,” he said.