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POUGHKEEPSIE – Tensions within the student body exploded on Wednesday, requiring nearly every City of Poughkeepsie Police detective and uniformed officer to respond to the Poughkeepsie High School just before noon for reports of large-scale fights among students. The school was put in a “hold-in-place” as groups of students were escorted back to their classrooms.
A police source said that several students left the building before police arrived.
This is the second time since school has been in session that the police have been needed to restore peace at the school. The previous incident occurred just minutes after students returned to the campus on the first day of school.
Police Captain Rich Wilson said “Our department is working with the district to ensure the safety of the staff and students, and will continue to do so,” when asked if there was adequate security at the school.
Sources have told Mid Hudson News that nearly 10 staff members per day are calling out sick because they do not feel safe in the building.
During Wednesday’s melee, a teacher told Mid Hudson News that they were locked in a classroom and “Every so often it sounds like a freight train running past the door.” The teacher, speaking on the condition of anonymity said “This was inevitable. The tension in the building on Tuesday was palpable.”
NEWS STORY PROVIDED BY: Mid Hudson News -www.midhudsonnews.com