MIAMI (WSVN) - Security was stepped up at Miami Northwestern Senior High School one day after several fights recorded on video led police to intervene and issue citations to three students.
Thursday was a rough day at the school, located at 1100 NW 71st St.
Parents received a call from the school’s principal, Dr. Bridgette Tate-Wyche.
“In an abundance of caution, the school was placed on a lockdown due to police activity on campus,” Tate-Wyche said in the recorded message.
Students described the chaos that unfolded on Thursday.
“It was fights everywhere; you didn’t even know where to go,” said a student.
7News cameras on Friday captured a noticeable increase in police presence near the campus entrance. Officers were seen on every corner, and several cruisers were parked outside.
Cellphone videos of the fight captured the punches thrown and hair pulled, as teachers and staff members worked to break it up.
“I was running ;cause, you know, I was scared,” said a student.
“It happened in less than an hour. It was like 25 cents less than an hour,” said another student. “It was just a lot going on. I was scared.”
The problems didn’t end at dismissal. Officers swarmed the area after, police said, they found a gun and drugs in a Jeep down the street from the school.
Officers arrested 40-year-old in connection with the incident, which was unrelated to the fights that broke out on campus.
Meanwhile, just outside the school, police said a large group of teens and adults gathered for a fight. Officers found a bag with two rifles inside.
Police arrested 24-year-old Edward Rogers Jr. in connection with this incident. He ran away from 7News cameras after he bonded out of jail.
Investigators said Rogers told detectives that he went to the school after his sister was jumped by a bunch of guys.
After the day of fights and firearms found near capus, community activists demanded actions from the members of the Miami-Dade School Board.
“You’re in position. So something about it, stand up for our children,” said community activits Tangie Sands Miller.
No students were arrested, but three of them received citations related to the fights.
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