BRANFORD, Conn. — Multiple teens are facing charges following a brawl that involved dozens of high school students in a Dunkin’ parking lot in Branford on Monday.
The fight happened around 2:30 p.m. at the Dunkin' on 207 East Main Street, according to the Branford Police Department.
Police said there were several active fights involving high school girls younger than 18.
“It's a tough situation. It’s tough to see, you know, students kind of getting involved in these types of things,” Branford resident Ryan McCarthy said. “It’s kind of tough when you see students going through the same school system and kind of devolving into this kind of violence.”
McCarthy graduated from Branford High School in 2018 and during his time there, he did not witness fights as serious as this.
“There’d be the occasional brawl like every once in a while that would be handled rather quickly by faculty but that was always inside of the building, always contained within the perimeter of the school,” McCarthy said.
When officers arrived, they found about 70 students gathered outside and inside the store, and determined this fight had all been planned.
Those inside were ordered outside the business but several young men fought back, according to police. One officer was pushed into the front window of the vestibule, causing glass to fly everywhere.
The teens continued to fight back and that’s when one officer deployed a Taser on an individual.
Police said that person was eventually taken into custody and per department policy, he was treated at a local hospital for the Taser deployment and later released.
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Nine people were arrested for fighting, with charges consisting of Breach of Peace, Assault 3rd, Criminal Mischief, Interfering with Officers and Assault on Police Officers.
Four of them were released on scene to their parents and the other five were taken into custody for processing and later released to their parents as well.
Police said while they were in police custody awaiting processing, two youths continued to be aggressive, spitting at the cell cameras and causing damage to a holding cell bench.
One of the youths was sent to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation and several Branford Police Officers sustained injuries during the incident, according to police.
Branford police said the brawl posed no threat to the public and that it is an ongoing investigation.
They added that they are working in conjunction with Branford Schools.
“We appreciate the cooperation with the Branford Schools and we would like to thank the staff of Dunkin Donuts for their cooperation during this incident,” police said.
As multiple videos of the incident are surfacing online, police said they do not show the full incident and do not depict the actions which led to the arrest of the individuals, and in some circumstances, the threats made to responding officers.
Body camera footage cannot be released since they cannot release records of the minors.
Cayla Cade is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at ccade@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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