Students from an alternative school in New York kept local police busy this week with a series of physical attacks that in some cases led to arrests.
Police from Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville and Westchester County responded to incidents at and around the school on April 18 and 19.
Around 7:30 p.m. on April 18, an officer attempted to break up a fight between a 16-year-old boy and a girl on the street of Pleasantville Cottage School, which cares for emotionally-troubled children ages 7 through 16. After stopping the altercation, the two teens became combative with the officer and were both arrested. Both teens were students at the school, according to lohud.com.
Later that night, police responded to reports of students rioting with weapons at Pleasantville Cottage. In that incident, a 17-year-old used an object to injure another student and was arrested and charged with second degree assault. Several other weapons were confiscated from the scene and the incident is being investigated.
Then, around 3 a.m. on April 19, police returned to the school after reports that a 17-year-old female attempted to stab a counselor with a screwdriver. The student was arrested and charged with second degree attempted assault.
“In the past few weeks there were some minor fights between teens on the campus which resulted in a few minor injuries. Staff were present and, with the assistance of the local police, they were able to keep the incidents from escalating,” a spokesperson for the school system said.
The incidents are especially troubling because administrators have taken steps to improve school security in recent months.
In February a security firm was hired to evaluate and improve the school’s safety. The school subsequently hired around 50 new staff members to improve student supervision.
Mount Pleasant police said they would be talking with school administrators about ways to quell the violence at the school.
In total, the school employs 514 staff members for roughly 250 students.
