Word Of Planned Student Brawl Prompts Police To Swarm Berkeley High School Campus

BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- Police swarmed the Berkeley High School campus Wednesday after staff caught word of a brawl between students planned after school.

School officials say the officers showed up to prevent a fight like the one between Berkeley High students last spring that fanned out from campus to downtown Berkeley.  Video of that brawl was posted online.

Students say it's become a cycle at Berkeley High.  The most recent fight broke out just three weeks ago.

"There are little flare-ups, definitely.  I think it's also definitely worsened by social media, because word gets out and there tends to be more of a buzz," Berkeley High student Julia Kim told KPIX 5.

This time, administrators caught wind of the buzz – a fight planned for Wednesday after Berkeley students clashed with students from an Oakland school.

"We had some credible reports of possible violent situations that might happen around the campus, either around lunchtime, or at the end of the day," Berkeley Unified School District Spokesman Mark Coplan said.

Wednesday's fight never materialized, but at lunchtime Berkeley police reportedly detained two teens who had said they came to campus for a fight.  An Oakland man with a replica gun was also arrested.

Students say they were relieved the beefed up security stopped another fight, but were unsure about how effective it will be in the future.

"I mean, it's not always gonna work.  It worked today," one student said.