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On the night of January 17, 2024, multiple fights broke out at Eaglecrest High School at the end of a basketball game with another local school called Smoky Hill High School in Eaglecrest, Colorado.
Video of the fight, which has now circulated on the internet, shows teenage students screaming and taunting one another before engaging in physical altercations, both inside and outside the Eaglecrest High School premises.
As per 9 News, a male student even had to be rushed to the hospital after he was knocked unconscious, while a few others suffered minor injuries. Alongside deputies overseeing the game, law enforcement was also called to handle the situation.
Exploring the brawl at Eaglecrest High School
On Wednesday night, rival basketball teams of Eaglecrest High School and Smoky Hill High School had a game on the former’s premises, where the latter won by 70-53 points.
After the match wrapped up around 8:40 p.m. in 5100 S. Picadilly Street, high school students were seen engaging in more than one fight, first inside and then outside the school. The altercations were captured on mobile phone cameras and showed teenage boys hitting one another and exchanging heated words.
Denver 7 obtained a copy of the footage, which showed the outbreak outside the gymnasium of Eaglecrest High School, with one getting knocked down on the concrete and another “diving into the ensuing pileup” and getting hurt.
As per several media outlets, including KDVR, one young male (not a student) was taken to the hospital and had to spend the night after losing consciousness and suffering severe injuries. School officials intervened, and many 911 calls were made, with the police and ambulance rushing to the scene.
Currently, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and Cherry Creek Public Schools Authorities are going through the surveillance footage of the fights to determine the circumstances that led to them. A spokesperson from the former told The Messenger, “Deputies were able to break up the fights, and everyone dispersed.”
A joint statement to Denver 7 reads as follows,
“Violence of any kind is not tolerated in the Cherry Creek School District, and anyone found to be involved in fights will face serious disciplinary consequences and may face legal repercussions as well.”
Here’s what students, faculty, and parents said about the fight
Matias Calderon, a senior at Eaglecrest High School who filmed the fights, told Denver 7 on Thursday what he witnessed.
“All of a sudden, I see people coming. I didn’t know what was happening. I turn around [and] see people fighting.”
He added how it was his instinct to record the brawls and fight among students in Eaglecrest was “not uncommon at all.”
Likewise, a former wrestling coach at the school, Frankie Sanchez, said that such fights were one of the primary reasons he left his job there.
He mentioned,
“It was very disturbing when I saw the videos because this could happen any time I was coaching there or at any event. This kind of stuff gets overlooked. [The district doesn’t] want it to seem like it’s a problem, but it is."
Meanwhile, Eaglecrest High School Principal Gwen Hansen-Vigil said in a community letter that the brawl broke out at the end of the game. Still, “security and multiple law enforcement officers” were present, who “responded to the fight.” She also assured that “no weapons were involved.”
Parents, too, raised concern about the scuffles and wished to see immediate changes in the schools to prevent them from recurring. One of them told KDVR, “Let’s say this got worse, and people go inside the building with a firearm. What happens then?”
They added that there was a lack of proper disciplinary measures to avoid such situations. Another parent said that fights among kids were normal, but how it aggravated on Wednesday night should never happen again, deeming it “unacceptable.”
Other parents spoke to FOX31 and said that they wanted a concrete plan to ensure that such violent situations do not arise in the future.
