Berkeley High Spirit Day: Fights downtown, teenager hurt

A teenager was reportedly taken by ambulance for medical treatment after violence broke out Friday as Berkeley High's "Unity Week" celebration wound down, according to police and community reports.

The Berkeley Unified School District did not respond to multiple inquiries Friday so details were limited as of publication time.

There were no BHS email updates from school administrators and no statements from the superintendent were posted online.

Berkeley police said they could not confirm all the details from the community reports either.

But readers told The Scanner that a Berkeley High student appeared to have been taken away by ambulance after violence broke out Friday shortly after noon in downtown Berkeley.

One reader said she saw a Berkeley fire truck blocking Center Street and Shattuck Avenue as a police officer arrived at 12:20 p.m.

"Lots of people," she wrote, "especially BHS students."

Police said many Berkeley High students were present downtown Friday for what historically was known as Rally Day or Spirit Day, the end of Berkeley High's Unity Week celebration.

"All the kids went downtown and threw eggs around as they do," one officer said. Some used Orby guns to shoot each other with gel pellets. "Then sporadic fights. One kid got jumped in the mix."

One parent said the argument may have begun as a verbal dispute related to egging and that the injured teen, who was said to be a student, may have been punched in the head.

"This is after Berkeley High said they were taking all these measures to ensure that 'rally day' would be fun but not violent or drunken," she said. "Kids were all Berkeley High Students."

A different community member said everyone seemed to be in good spirits until violence broke out around lunchtime.

Read more about BHS campus safety in Berkeley.

Community members told The Scanner that the injured teen was taken away by ambulance, but Berkeley police were unable to confirm that information as of publication time.

A female student also twisted her ankle in the crowd, police said.

There were no arrests, BPD said.

Police did confirm that a number of different calls came in Friday about groups of students downtown, including some who threw eggs at people, as well as some minor injuries.

Berkeley High's Unity Week consists of five thematic "spirit days" where students dress up to show their BHS Jacket pride.

The event culminated Friday with a day of "Red & Gold Jacket Pride: Rep the school colors to the fullest," student leaders wrote in a recent online bulletin.

The Scanner will update this story when additional information becomes available.