Update: 4 arrested Tuesday for Austin HS fight
Published 10:26 am Wednesday, September 30, 2015
By Jason Schoonover and Jenae Hackensmith
A juvenile and three adults were taken into custody Tuesday and could face charges in relation to Monday’s large fight outside Austin High School.
Police Chief Brian Krueger said the juvenile was taken into custody for making threats at Austin High School, which were tied to Monday’s fight, shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday. Krueger said the juvenile was transported to Many Rivers Juvenile Treatment Center in Rochester.
The three adults arrested Tuesday — one of which is the 27-year-old arrested and released Monday — are being held at the Mower County Jail. They all face potential charges of rioting, while one could face charges for fleeing police and possessing a dangerous weapon on school property. The cases have been forwarded to the Mower County Attorney’s Office.
Austin police and Mower County deputies responded to AHS around 3:15 p.m. Monday after reports of a fights and a report of a suspect with a gun near the school’s west entrance.
The school went into lockdown from 3:23 to 4:02 p.m., and Pacelli Catholic School and Mayo Clinic Health System were also briefly locked down. Though witnesses reported one person had a gun, no gun was ever found. Police searched the area and found a set of black, shiny nun-chucks on the roof of the high school annex, which officers believe a suspect threw there when being chased.
A 27-year-old male and a 14-year-old female were taken into custody and later released Monday.
Krueger said his department is still investigating Monday’s fight and why it started, but he said there could have been contact between students and the adults before the fight happened. Officers and school officials are still looking at the video surveillance and videos from the public and students to identify more people involved in the incident. Videos of the fight are circulating on Facebook and Youtube.
“Still a work-in-progress,” he said. “There were a lot of people involved.”
AHS took several precaution measures on Tuesday in an effort to prevent another incident, and Austin Public Schools officials confirmed many will continue through the rest of the week.
Like on Tuesday, students won’t be allowed to enter the building until 7:30 a.m. at doors No. 1 and No. 13, and they’ll be asked to show their student IDs.
There were a few changes to homecoming events. Thursday’s student homecoming bonfire slated for 8:30 to 10 p.m. was moved to the water tower parking lot at Wescott Field
All athletic events will occur as scheduled.