Questions Amid Stabbing And Multiple Injuries Near Barclays Center

A large brawl among high school students yielded multiple injuries on Monday, September 21, when a fight broke out near 139 Flatbush Avenue, across the street from Barclays Center.

Gothamist reports that at roughly 3:45pm Monday police offers responded to a 911 call and arrived at the scene to find a large group of high school students fighting on the street. A 16-year old South Shore High School student was reportedly stabbed in the stomach by a student from John Jay High School. In addition, video taken at the time shows about 10-20 students assaulting another teenager. Both injured students were taken to Brookdale Hospital.

A police officer suffered an eye injury from being pepper-sprayed during the incident. He was treated at Brooklyn Hospital. All three injuries are not life threatening.

Two teens have been arrested — one for possessing a box cutter and the other for committing assault — according to Gothamist, though ABC7 says three people were arrested.

A Facebook video has gone viral and shows the incident at a different angle.

In an ABC7 news report, activist Tony Hebert says, “The overall arching factor here is that these kids are sitting dormant doing nothing but getting into mischief. This mischief is now turning violent and is creating an atmosphere that is criminal, and they don’t understand that there are consequences behind it.” He intends to speak with the principals of three nearby high schools.

In May 2014, DNAinfo reported that police were paying careful attention to this area due to concerns that students were using social media to organize “fight club” events where groups would gather for brawls during the daytime.

A connection between this recent incident and the social media gatherings has not been made by the police at this time.