A High School Food Fight Ends With Riot Charges

Students scheduled a food fight at their Connecticut high school last week that escalated into a riot, with hundreds of them throwing eggs, cans of soda, and other objects, Stamford police said. A teacher and a police officer were injured, police say, and 10 students ages 15 to 17 were arrested. School officials knew the fight was planned for Friday, thanks in part to social media, and met with students beforehand to head it off, the Stamford Advocate reports. The students agreed, and no one started a fight in the cafeteria. But a few students in an outdoor courtyard started throwing things. Then hundreds ran out of the building and joined the melee.

A few skirmishes broke out, police said; the injured teacher was trampled and a school resource officer was hit in the head with a can of soda. Westhill High School staff and officers were unable to get the situation under control and called police. They watched security video to identify the students who were charged; they all face first-degree riot, assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment, and breach of peace charges, per the Hartford Courant. It turned into an "ugly and disappointing situation," says Earl Kim, the schools superintendent. "We know our students are much better than that." (More food fight stories.)