Five Charged in Fight at City High

Update: 2:05 p.m.

Iowa City Police say five juveniles were charged after a fight this morning at City High.

The fight broke out at about 7:25 a.m. Police were aware of ongoing issues between the people involved and had an officer on hand, according to police.

School Principal John Bacon said in a letter to parents that the fight was spill over from an incident in a neighborhood this weekend. 

Due to the immediate action of school staff and the officer already on scene, this morning's situation was quickly defused and all five juveniles were taken into custody and removed from the school. Additional police officers responded to help stabilize the situation. Officials from the Johnson County Juvenile Court Office also responded to City High. 

The five people detained - three males and two females - were transported to a juvenile detention facility in Cedar Rapids. They juveniles were not named. 

Here are the charges provided by police:

Male 1 - Assault Causing Injury
Male 2 - Simple Assault and Disorderly Conduct
Male 3 - Simple Assault
Female 1 - Simple Assault and Disorderly Conduct
Female 2 - Disorderly Conduct

Previous: 9:45 a.m.

Police responded to a fight at City High School this morning. 

Iowa City Police Sgt. Vicki Lalla said the details are still coming together but she could confirm a fight took place this morning and arrests were made. She said officers are still collecting information.

Lalla said she expected to put out a statement to the media later today.

The fight was serious enough that it apparently prompted a letter from the school to families. KCJJ has posted a letter on Facebook that says it was sent by City High Principal John Bacon to families about the fight. 

Here is the letter from Principal Bacon:

A message from CITY HIGH SCHOOL Dear City High Families, 

Before school started this morning at City High, we had an unfortunate incident where two students had a fight with each other. Everyone is safe and the situation is back to normal at this time. I want to provide you with information about what happened.

The incident was a direct spillover from a conflict that had occurred over the weekend in a neighborhood. Iowa City Police were aware of the issue over the weekend, and they had made the decision to place an officer here at school to start the day just in case anything spilled over into school. Therefore, the officer and school staff were immediately on top of the situation, and all involved were removed right away. Multiple officers responded to assist. 

The disruption was significant and unfortunately many students witnessed the situation as it occurred as students were coming into school. Therefore, I wanted you to have accurate information about what occurred. 

Fighting at school is taken very seriously by our high school and our school district. Every measure will be taken to make sure no further disruption to our learning environment will occur. 

Thank you for your support. 


Sincerely, 

John Bacon 
Principal 

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