A brawl involving five teenagers in front of Modesto High School on Tuesday afternoon led to three arrests and about 200 students clogging a busy west Modesto street as they scrambled to watch the fight, police said.
The fight appeared to be gang-related, but officers were trying to figure why the brawl broke out as some students left school at 2:10 p.m., said Sgt. Craig Gundlach, a police spokesman.
When officers arrived at the Paradise Road-South Jefferson Street intersection, they saw two teenage girls fighting in the street, Gundlach said.
Police later learned that a 17-year-old girl from Sacramento, along with two 17-year-old boys, instigated the brawl, Gundlach said. The Sacramento girl told police she was in Modesto because she wants to move here and attend the high school.
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It was unknown if the other brawling teenagers were students at Modesto High.
Gundlach said the trio attacked a 16-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy. Police did not release their names because they are minors.
While the two girls fought in the street, the boys had moved about a half-block north and were fighting there before officers broke up their fight, Gundlach said, and as officers worked to stop the girls, the students rushed to watch the boys.
The 17-year-old Sacramento girl was cited for assault and released to her family, Gundlach said.
The two 17-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and booked at Stanislaus County Juvenile Hall. Gundlach said they were using their shoes to kick the 15-year-old boy in the head.
One of the boys was from Merced and also was charged with providing false identifying information to an officer.
The second boy was from Modesto and charged with vandalism, since police said he tried to kick out the window of a police patrol unit while inside.
The 15-year-old Modesto boy who was attacked was cited with challenging someone to a fight in public and released to his family, Gundlach said. He did not have any visible injuries and refused treatment at the scene.
While he was being detained, his 18-year-old brother, Curtis McCarty, tried to pull his brother away from officers, Gundlach said.
McCarty was arrested on suspicion of interfering with an arrest. Gundlach said McCarty struggled with officers while being detained and later complained of pain after officers used an arm-hold to subdue him.
McCarty was treated at Doctors Medical Center before he was booked at Stanislaus County Jail.
Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or 578-2394.
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