POUGHKEEPSIE – City cops responded to reports of a large number of “students” fighting in the area of 10 South White Street at approximately 3:05 pm. Many of the youth were identified as students enrolled in the Poughkeepsie High School and middle schools which are just a few blocks away. Approximately 25 kids were either engaged in a physical altercation or were nearby, observing the fight.
When several police units arrived on the scene, the youth continued fighting until the police exited their vehicles, at which point the teens fled from the scene. The high school dismissal bell rings at 2:40 pm, with the middle school dismissal bell ringing at 2:50 pm. There is a history of physical fights that take place on or near the school grounds in the 30 minutes after the bell rings.
As recently as last week, police were summoned to a large-scale melee near the Poughkeepsie High School that began moments after dismissal. That melee resulted in a 16-year-old male and a female, also 16, being taken to the police department’s juvenile division where they were facing numerous charges.
Sources told Mid-Hudson News at the scene on Monday that many of the teens involved in the February 5 fight were also involved in the January 30 melee.
No youths were detained by police as a result of Monday’s fighting.
