February 14th, South’s third lunch broke out in widespread fights. Conflicts began in first lunch, and continued on and off through 12:45, when the main incident erupted, and lasted about 15 minutes. Staff and  police liaisons tried to break up the fight, which grew to involve over 200 people. Minneapolis police were called in, who attempted a skirmish line to disperse the crowd, but had to spray the chemical Mace.

One staff member and several students were sent to the hospital in an ambulance, and others were treated at the scene by medical personnel. The school was placed on a code yellow lockdown for the last three hours of the day, keeping students out of the hall and in one class.

Causes for the fight are still being investigated, although racial tensions have been considered as a source of conflict.

School was in session as usual the following day, but stayed on code yellow. Additional staff people were present, and counselors are available for students to talk to.

Minneapolis Public Schools has stated that in the coming weeks they “are planning for restorative measures to begin next Tuesday. We want to move forward and focus on learning.”

The Southerner will continue to report as information becomes available.