LEWISTON – Police from all sections of the city rushed to the high school Friday afternoon when a fight involving more than a dozen students erupted in the parking lot.

By the time the 2 p.m. melee was under control, four people were arrested and several others were ordered away from the East Avenue school. Police said more charges will be filed as a result of the fight.

What started the brawl remained unclear later in the day. Some students said the scrap may have started when one group of teens threw water balloons at another student’s car.

“We’re still trying to determine what precipitated this,” said police Lt. Tom Avery.

Zachary Ouellette, a junior who watched the fight, said he and his friends were throwing water balloons and one hit another student’s car. What followed, Ouellette described as a “huge fight.”

“They were all throwing punches and pushing,” he said.

A police officer who works at the school responded but quickly became overwhelmed by the number of people involved in the fracas. He called for backup.

Minutes later, there were at least eight police cruisers in front of the school and even more officers. Those believed to be directly involved in the fight were handcuffed and loaded into police cars.

“The cops started arresting everybody,” said Matt Dumais, a senior.

The four who were arrested are all teens, although one is not a student, police said.

Some students speculated the scrap was motivated by racial tensions because it involved a group of Somalis. Police, however, said there is no indication it was anything more than a schoolyard fight.

The brawl erupted when classes let out for the day about 2 p.m. Students and faculty at the high school will be off three days during the Memorial Day weekend.

“The officers who are assigned to the school will be investigating the matter further once school is back in session,” Avery said. “We are going to pursue charges against others the officers know were involved in the fight.”

The two adults who were arrested are: Abdirham H. Mohamed, 18, on charges of disorderly conduct and failure to disperse, and Hamdi S. Naji, 18, on a charge of disorderly conduct. The remaining suspects are juveniles and their arrest reports were not available.

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