Metal Bar to the Head Equals Suspension
Date: 2008-11-01 13:02:16
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/alamedacounty/ci_949446...
Submitted By: School Fights
A rap song that a former Alameda High School student allegedly posted on the Internet criticizing Encinal High School sparked a fight among students from the two campuses, prompting police to make three arrests and school district authorities to suspend 14 students. During the melee last Friday a 16-year-old Encinal student suffered a laceration to his head when an Alameda student struck him on the head with a metal pipe, as well as bruising on his back when a girl hit him with a wrench, police said. The teenager who posted the song on MySpace.com has been identified and could face felony charges, Alameda police detective Sgt. Kevin McNiff said Wednesday. The boy attended Alameda High School until October and now attends San Lorenzo High School. "It was a re-mix of a rap song," McNiff said. "It used derogatory language to refer to female students at Encinal. It also named one kid from Encinal." About 100 students from the two schools confronted each other Friday afternoon in the parking lot outside Longs Drugs at Santa Clara Avenue and Oak Street, according to police. After police officers arrived, the students dispersed. But an Encinal student and his companion were confronted a short time later as they walked in the 2400 block of Santa Clara Avenue, where a car pulled up and the two Alameda High School students got out. The Encinal student was set upon and his companion fled, police said. The Alameda student reportedly carrying the lead pipe is 17 and lives in Oakland. The girl, 15, allegedly wielding the wrench also attends Alameda high, police said. Along with taking both students into custody, officers arrested the car's driver. Police identified him as Phung Vo, an 18-year-old Alameda resident. The students were booked at Juvenile Hall and each faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and causing grievous bodily injury. Their names were not disclosed because they are minors. Vo was booked at the Alameda city jail on an accessory charge, McNiff said. Authorities at the two schools suspended a total of 14 students. "It was a case of teenage boys doing stupid, adolescent things," said Mike Cooper, Encinal's principal. The suspensions were for five days, he said.
