Update 2:55 p.m. Thursday's update on the situation at Beaumont High is here:
Beaumont High Principal Says There Was No Fight on Tuesday
Update 8:40 p.m. Police and city officials have released a statement about a fight at Beaumont Sports Park on Tuesday, followed by info posted on social media implying someone was going to bring a weapon to Beaumont High School on Wednesday.
The ensuing firestorm of rumor among students and concern among parents prompted police and deputies to staff extra patrols, including motorcycle officers, on Beaumont High's campus on Oct. 23, and led many parents to come directly to the school to check on their children's well-being.
Beaumont police searched a student's home Wednesday for weapons and found none, according to city and police officials.
Here is the statement from Darci Mulvihill, a spokeswoman for the City of Beaumont and the Police Department, released Wednesday evening in response to questions from Banning-Beaumont Patch:
On Tuesday, October 22, 2013, the Beaumont Police Department received a call regarding a possible fight taking place at the Beaumont Sports Park after the high school let out for the day.
Officers responded and two juveniles were cited for interfering with officers. Other students who gathered to watch the fight were escorted out of the area by officers and school security staff to ensure no other fights occurred.
On Wednesday, October 23, 2013, staff from the high school reported that they had received information via social media that a student made comments inferring that they might bring a weapon to class.
The Beaumont Police Department initiated an investigation utilizing the Riverside County Kids with Guns Protocol as a precaution.
No weapons were located at the student's residence. Officers from Beaumont and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department provided extra patrols at the high school and sports park throughout the day to ensure the safety of the students.
Beaumont Sports Park is on Brookside Avenue, across Beaumont Avenue from Beaumont High School.
It remained unclear Wednesday evening what the fight on Tuesday was about, and what steps school, police and city officials were considering to deal with remaining tensions on and off campus at Beaumont High.
Click here to read a 10-year-old copy of the Riverside County Kids with Guns Protocol.
Update 2:10 p.m. Extra police officers were on patrol Wednesday at Beaumont High as a precaution following a fight that occurred Tuesday, said Darci Mulvihill, a spokeswoman for the City of Beaumont.
Asked for details about the fight and the police response to the incident on Tuesday, Mulvihill said she was working on it.
Update 1:50 p.m. Many parents with children at Beaumont High School remained concerned Wednesday afternoon about the police presence on campus and they were seeking answers.
Extra police officers were on patrol Wednesday at Beaumont High as a precaution following a fight that occurred Tuesday, said Darci Mulvihill, a spokeswoman for the City of Beaumont.
Several parents went to the school to check on their children's safety or to attempt to pick them up.
"We have the police department here," Donna Hughett, a clerk in the main office at Beaumont High, told Banning-Beaumont Patch just before 12:30 p.m. "There was rumor started on Facebook, the police have him and they're taking care of his issues."
There was no lockdown at the school, Hughett said, but she was receiving a lot of phone calls.
Update 1:05 p.m. Several parents went to Beaumont High to check on their children's well-being Wednesday in response to a social media posting related to a fight at the school.
"There was a crazy line of parents cars driving through to pick their kids up," a parent told Banning-Beaumont Patch shortly before 1 p.m. Oct. 23.
Extra police officers were on patrol Wednesday at Beaumont High School as a precaution following a fight that occurred Tuesday, said Darci Mulvihill, a spokeswoman for the City of Beaumont.
"It was blowing up on Facebook," the parent, who asked that her name not be published, said in a phone interview. "I saw it on a moms' page, all these parents were going to pick their kids. One of the kids from the fight had put something on Instagram or Facebook saying they were coming back guns a blazing."
The parent said she too went to the school to check on her child and she spoke to school security, who assured her that her child was safe.
Posted 12:40 p.m. Beaumont police responded Wednesday to Beaumont High School regarding a Facebook posting and they were questioning a young man, a clerk at the school said in a phone interview.
"We have the police department here," Donna Hughett, a clerk in the main office at Beaumont High, told Banning-Beaumont Patch just before 12:30 p.m. "There was rumor started on Facebook, the police have him and they're taking care of his issues."
There was no lockdown at the school, Hughett said, but she was receiving a lot of phone calls.
"There's extra patrol at the High School as a precaution following a fight that occurred yesterday," Darci Mulvihill, a spokeswoman for the City of Beaumont, said in an email shortly after 12:30 p.m.
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