A week after a brawl on the field during a football game between Gaithersburg and Northwestern high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, the county begins new security measures Friday to restrict who may attend games.
After the initial fight, a clash among police and spectators led to assault charges against six juveniles and a 19-year-old male.
"Aggression and hormones are part of high schoolers, and I think that fights just happen sometimes," said one student. "Obviously, violence is not a solution."
She was among the students at State's Attorney John McCarthy’s presentation Friday at Clarksburg High School, part of an additional effort to end gun violence at county schools.
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Now the school district is tightening security under the Friday night lights.
Effective Friday:
- Students from the schools playing will need valid tickets and schools ID to get in
- Other school-aged students attending games will need an adult chaperone for the duration of the event
- No students or spectators will be allowed on the sidelines
- No re-entry will be permitted, nor new entries after halftime
"I think it’s like important to have, because now you know who’s doing it," said another student.
Some parents said they think it’s a good idea as well.
"I do think that it will help make things better, and just make things, facilitate things in regards to game going, but also encourage other people to feel comfortable," a parent said.
There could be other tiers of restrictions added if there are more incidents.
The first tier would allow only family of student athletes and home team students to attend games.
If that doesn't work, only families of student athletes would be allowed at games. And if that doesn’t work, games would be played without any spectators.
It could put a damper on the Friday night excitement.
"But you know, unfortunately, if that’s the situation and that’s what it takes to keep people safe," said another parent.
There's no word yet on how long the new rules will remain in place. Friday night will be the first test of how effective they are.
