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LAWRENCE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Five people were arrested in Lawrence yesterday following a fight after school got out, only days after a public meeting to address a recent rise in school violence.
After classes ended at Lawrence High School on Wednesday, a fight broke out at Sullivan Park near the school's campus, according to a statement from the Lawrence mayor and police chief.
Four students were arrested following the incident, and another woman, believed to be the mother of one of the students involved in the fight, was arrested for disorderly conduct.
State Police and Lawrence Police responded to the altercation. Several members of the Lawrence Police Department were already in the area at the time of the altercation due to a safety plan put in place by the city, the joint statement said.
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This incident occurred only two days after school and city officials met in an emergency meeting to discuss the recent outbursts of violence at the city's high school that left some staff injured.
The meeting involved the Lawrence School Committee and City Council, with Mayor Kendrys Vasquez and hundreds of parents, teachers, and students.
They voted unanimously to petition the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to end the city's receivership, which allows the DESE to control the Lawrence School District. The city hopes to end this agreement and allow them to have control over the district.
“Lawrence deserves respect, yet the most diverse community in the Commonwealth has been denied autonomy for more than ten years and that must end,” Mayor Vasquez said in his opening statement.
Last week, a group of dozens of educators held a rally to call for more action surrounding violence in schools.
WBZ's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.
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