CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Dozens of students battled each other at a high school Wednesday in a racially motivated brawl between black and Latino students that left two injured and three under arrest, authorities said.
At least 30 students traded punches and kicks in a series of fights that erupted in a Carson High School courtyard during the 10 a.m. recess, said Monica Carazo, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
School police and Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies quelled the violence. Two students were sent to the hospital for treatment but Carsazo did not immediately know their conditions or the extent of their injuries.
Three students were arrested on suspicion of assault. Five other students were issued citations for fighting.
The school was placed on modified lockdown, with students confined to classrooms except for lunch and to use restrooms.
The school has more than 3,000 students, about half of them Latino. There also is a large black population.
Racial tensions in the nation's second-largest school district occasionally have led to school brawls. In 2005, as many as 100 students scuffled at Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles, leading to several arrests and injuries. Several other fights involving dozens of students were reported at the school and other campuses.
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