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‘Total chaos’: CMS looks at changing rules for fans after brawl at homecoming game

CHARLOTTE — A massive fight at a football game involved Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students and parents, and it could lead to changes across the district.

Video from Charlitt Teens on social media shows the chaos, which happened Friday night at Harding University High School in west Charlotte.

Channel 9′s Jonathan Lowe reports CMS is looking at changing guidelines for fans, and it wasn’t just because of this fight. We learned about another incident at West Charlotte High School that involved adults in the parking lot.

Friday’s fight wasn’t what anyone expects to see at a high school homecoming game. People were brawling in the bleachers at halftime during the game between Harding and visiting team North Meck High.

“All I could see was arms swinging,” Annette Albright said.

Albright told Channel 9′s Evan Donovan she saw it firsthand. She’s a former teacher at Harding and said she ran to get police.

“The altercations did not stop, they kept growing,” she said. “And I turned around to literally see a student with a white hoodie literally punching a female, with both arms, and I’m like ‘stop hitting her.’ It was total chaos, and it seemed like it lasted forever.”

CMS claims the fight started with two females who were not students at Harding. Albright, who is running for CMS school board, said that’s what she saw too.

Albright also said some school staffers were hit while trying to break it up.

“I turned around to kind of follow the principal and I saw him grabbing some students, and -- I don’t know if they were intentionally trying to hit him, but they were fighting back -- and I saw him go down, in between the bleachers,” she said.

Harding principal Glenn Starnes told our partners at the Charlotte Observer that what happened was “...an embarrassment to our community.” He said it “does not align to the values of excellence held at our school.”

Donovan is asking police for any information they can share about the suspects in the case.

We’re waiting to learn more about the changes CMS could be making. The district did say they can’t comment on any discipline for any students involved because of privacy issues.

(WATCH BELOW: Detectives investigate bowling alley brawl in Rock Hill)

Evan Donovan

Evan Donovan, wsoctv.com

Evan is an anchor and reporter for Channel 9.

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