Tucson High School Fight Leads To Two Arrests, Including Parent

Tucson AZ

04 May, 2022

1:58 PM

Description

TUCSON, AZ —A parent and a student were arrested Tuesday in connection with a large-scale fight that took place at Tucson High Magnet School, according to Tucson police. Police said the fight took place during the lunch hour at the school, located at 400 N. Second Ave., and began when an adult arrived on the school campus and a fight ensued. Willie Smith, 40, was arrested and booked for the felony charge of disrupting an educational institute, and a 15-year-old student was arrested for disorderly conduct fighting, according to police. Tucson police said officers responded to the scene to assist Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) safety officers, who were trying to break up the fight. The TPD said no weapons were brought onto campus by the suspect and that no injuries or medical transports were reported after the fight. KVOA reported that the fight involved as many as 30 students, and a letter from TUSD administrators to Tucson High parents suggested there had been multiple fights during the lunch hour. The TPD said its officers did not use any type of force, including pepper spray. "If (pepper spray) was used, it was not by our department," Sergeant Richard Gradillas, spokesperson for the TPD, said. Gradillas said the investigation into the fight is ongoing. According to KVOA, letters sent to Tucson High families on Tuesday from school and district administrators suggested that "emergency safety protocols" had been put into place during the lunch hour due to "multiple alterations." Administrators said the school was taking steps to ensure student safety in the coming days. "We have transitioned back to our normal schedule and routine with some safety restrictions put into place including continued School Safety and TPD presence for the remainder of the day and week," the letter said. TMZ Tucson posted videos on Twitter that it said showed scenes from the fight.