MELBOURNE, Fla. – Ten students and one adult were taken into custody at Palm Bay High School following what Melbourne police described as a “large-scale brawl” that broke out Monday afternoon, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
There were no immediate reports of injuries during the fight, which began with two girls fighting in a hallway.
The ruckus happened about 1 p.m. as a school resource officer attempted to contain the dispute. Melbourne police said one of the girls attacked the school resource officer then more students began to fight.
The students were separated and taken into custody as back-up patrol officers from Palm Bay and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office converged on the school to assist the resource officers on-site.
Officials said the adult who was arrested was a female relative of one of the students involved in the fight. She’s accused of causing a “significant verbal disturbance with students” involved in the fight and refusing to leave campus.
The teens face charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, disrupting a school function and resisting arrest.
“It was mayhem. We’re investigating what happened and how it got to this,” said Sgt. Martin Miller of the Melbourne Police Department.
Brevard Public School District officials also were reviewing the incident at the school, which is located at 101 Pirate Lane in Melbourne.
"There was a disturbance on campus," said Nicki Hensley, a spokeswoman for Brevard Public Schools. "It's been contained. They're looking into it, but that's all we have at the moment."
"There were multiple students involved," Hensley added via text, referring further comment to Melbourne police.
It was not immediately known if the students would be released into the custody of their parents or turned over to juvenile authorities.
Eric Rogers contributed to this report.