AURORA, Colo. — Video obtained by Denver7 shows the wild scene amid a fight that broke out at the end of a basketball game between rival high schools Eaglecrest and Smoky Hill Wednesday night.
It shows an outbreak of fisticuffs as students flooded outside the Eaglecrest gymnasium. One person can be seen being picked up and slammed into the concrete. Another appears to be hurt after diving into the ensuing pileup.
Near the end of the one-minute clip, someone can be heard off camera yelling, “Call the ambulance!”
Denver7 made the decision to blur the video – captured by Eaglecrest student Matias Calderon – to disguise the identity of those involved, many of whom were minors.
One person, who the Cherry Creek school district tells Denver7 is not a student at either school, was taken to the hospital with injuries.
Cherry Creek School District spokesperson Lauren Snell said the district was aware of multiple fights at the school during the basketball game, which Smoky Hill won, 70-53.
School security personnel and multiple law enforcement officers were working at the school for the game, the district said.
A letter sent to Eaglecrest parents obtained by Denver7 said initial reports of a weapon being involved in the fight were not true.
The circumstances that led to the fight were not immediately clear.
‘Not uncommon at all’ at Eaglecrest
Calderon said his first instinct was to record as the kerfuffle unfolded Wednesday.
“All of a sudden, I see people running,” Calderon told Denver7 Thursday. “I didn’t know what was happening. I turn around [and] see people fighting.”
He added that fighting between students was “not uncommon at all” at Eaglecrest.
Frankie Sanchez, a former wrestling coach at the school, said scenes like Wednesday’s donnybrook were part of the reason he left Eaglecrest.
“It was very disturbing when I saw the videos because this could happen any time I was coaching there or any event,” Sanchez said. “This kind of stuff gets overlooked. [The district doesn’t] want it to seem like it’s a problem, but it is.”
The letter sent to Eaglecrest families said the school was working with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and Smoky Hill High School to investigate the incident. It said the district takes fights seriously.
“Violence of any kind is not tolerated in the Cherry Creek School District, and anyone found to be involved in fights will face serious disciplinary consequences and may face legal repercussions as well,” the letter read.
