of caution, to make sure the school was secured after the fights and to try to prevent anymore of them.”
There were no serious injuries reported and, so far, no arrests have been made, according to SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega. When police arrived at the scene, a second fight broke out, which police said they defused.
The Santa Monica Police called in back-up units from Beverly Hills and Culver City to help secure the area. When students were released at about 3 p.m., the police units were stationed on the perimeter of Samohi, and no further altercations were reported.
Fabrega said it was too early in the investigation to determine if the fight was gang or racially provoked.
Witnesses said the fight started when two students, a Latino and black, began shouting at each other near the basketball courts. A fight quickly ensued, and then several other Latino and black students began fighting around the campus.
Deasy said school staff will be working with the Santa Monica Police over the weekend to try and figure out how the fight began and make sure the campus is secured when school resumes on Monday.
Dozens of students watched the fights occurring throughout the campus, until the lockdown was announced.
Witnesses said no white students were involved in the fight.
One witness said the students who refused to return to class took over the technology building until police arrived and detained them.
Parents whose children were involved in the fight were called to pick up their students before school was released. Other parents, whose children were not involved, also expressed concern about campus security. Some said it was unfortunate the educational environment had to be interrupted by violence.
“It makes me wonder if my son is going to be safe at school,” said Andrea Waters, a Samohi parent.
Tara Kandemier, 23, a Samohi graduate, said the high school was known as a good academic institution when she attended several years ago. But since then it has deteriorated.
“This never happened when I went to school,” she said. “Samohi has been getting worse in the past few years.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 16, 2005. Read the original PDF.