Police Stop School Fight At Terrace High School

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE - Administrators at Mountlake Terrace High School are talking with scores of students to sort out details of a fight yesterday that began with racial comments between two students and ended up with several other students throwing punches at one another.

Administrators and police spoke with students this morning in an effort to defuse tensions, which remained high. Police Chief John Turner, addressing the students via intercom, said such behavior would not be tolerated. Seven police officers were at the campus today.

The fight began after school when a white student, who had been suspended for a day earlier in the week for making a racial remark to two Asian students, began to fight with an Asian student, said Sylvia Soholt, community-relations manager for the Edmonds School District.

Soholt said the Asian student who was the target of yesterday's fight was not one of the two targets of the epithets earlier in the week.

While the two students fought, about 20 other students threw punches, Soholt said.

A Mountlake Terrace Police officer assigned to the campus used pepper spray to break up the two fighters, Soholt said.

Police said they would seek misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and fourth-degree assault against those found to be involved in the fight.

School officials said a dance scheduled for tonight would not be canceled as a result of the fight. However, four Mountlake Terrace police officers would be at the dance for security.