Joliet West fight fest - 3 more arrested at Joliet West High School

JOLIET — A third student was arrested in connection with a Joliet West High School cafeteria fight and two others were hauled off to juvenile jail for their involvement in separate violent incidents, police said, raising the total number of students jailed this week to seven.

The 14-year-old third student charged with the Wednesday fight in the cafeteria joined a 14-year-old and 15-year-old in River Valley Juvenile Detention Center who also were arrested for their part in the incident, according to police.

All three were charged with aggravated battery and disorderly conduct, police said.

The 15-year-old the trio attacked was not arrested, as was initially reported, police said.

That fight was the second in two days at Joliet West, according to police.

About 2 p.m. Tuesday, two 15-year-olds fought in a hallway and one struck a school security guard, police said.

Both teens were charged with aggravated battery and disorderly conduct and transported to River Valley Juvenile Detention Center, according to police, and the injured security guard was treated at AMITA Saint Joseph Medical Center.

On Thursday, a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were arrested for fighting at Joliet West, police said.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, the 14-year-old girl pushed a 14-year-old boy from behind and “repeatedly struck him in the face” during a gym class soccer game, according to police.

A teacher broke up the fight, police said, and the girl was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery and transported to River Valley Juvenile Detention Center.

Then, about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, a 15-year-old boy attacked another 15-year-old boy in a school restroom, according to police.

The aggressor “repeatedly punched (the other teen) about the head and body,” police said, but the other teen emerged from the attack uninjured.

The aggressor was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery and taken to River Valley Juvenile Detention Center.

School officials were partnering with police in attempt to stop the violence, said District 204 spokeswoman Kristine Schlismann.

“Students engaging in physical altercations are receiving consequences and interventions through our schools,” Schlisman said in an email.

“We continue to work collaboratively with the police department,” Schlismann said. “Unfortunately, some decisions by students may lead to arrests. We also need parents to talk to their children about the consequences of engaging in physical altercations.”

During a board of education meeting last month, parents of students and staffers from Joliet’s two high schools urged district officials to do more to address the incidents of violence this year.

Just days before that meeting, a video emerged on social media showing a wild brawl in a Joliet West High School hallway.