Newly-released 911 calls help describe the chaos at Rich South High School Monday when a brawl broke out with students from rival school Rich Central.
Sixteen students were charged and several more were injured in connection with the melee sparked after 1,400 Rich Central students were bused to the Rich South following a bomb threat. Someone pulled a fire alarm inside Rich South, and the fights began when those students filed outside.
A secretary who called 911 blamed the fights on the Rich Central students.
"We have Rich Central kids here and they are trying to riot, they are all over the place standing on cars, they pulled our fire alarm," the secretary said.
More than 30 Cook County sheriff’s police officers were called to break up the fighting, along with officers from Matteson, Park Forest and New Lenox.
Three girls were trampled and 10 students were charged with mob action. Crystal Gholson, 17, accused of striking a student repeatedly during the brawl, was arrested and released Wednesday on $20,000 dollars bond. Gholson's lawyer blames the school district for letting the Rich Central kids off the bus.
A 14-year-old and 15-year-old Rich Central students are accused of leaving the initial bomb threat.
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Police say four students from both schools were also charged with breach of peace after allegedly going to a girl's Richton Park home Tuesday and trying to pick a fight, a beef connected to Monday's brawl.
