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More youth fights on YouTube, these in Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN
Police are investigating street fighting by youths much like the fight taken on video in Boardman Park several weeks ago.
The fights occurring in Youngstown, like the Boardman fights, were captured by spectators and uploaded to YouTube.
A search of the YouTube site produced several fights said to have taken place in Youngstown. Some of the fights were listed as having taken place up to two years ago and others were as recent as a week ago.
The fight being investigated by city police is said to have taken place near Taft Elementary School on the South Side. The video shows a shirtless teen in black shorts engaged in a fight with another teen. Multiple people stood around and watched the fight unfold with several people catching the fight on camera.
Chief Rod Foley said the matter came to the attention of police after someone uploaded the fight to the city’s Facebook account.
“We have identified several of the combatants and plan on bringing those individuals in for questioning to determine how this was set up, if it was set up or a spontaneous fight where a bunch of people just showed up,” the chief said.
Foley stopped short of calling what took place in the videos a fight club until police can determine exactly what had taken place. He said the department will push for charges against anyone identified in the video.
“The biggest thing is, we don’t want this to be an ongoing thing,” Foley said. “We want to put an end to this pretty quickly.”
Those fighting near the Taft school and uploading the videos to the Internet are not alone and not the first to do so.
A quick search of the YouTube site produced several videos of scantily clad teen males, as well as some females, fighting before a crowd of spectators. In most cases, those watching the fight did not attempt to stop it, but instead cheered on the fighters.
Earlier this week, Boardman police arrested two males — one 15, the other 17 — for their reported participation in the recorded fight in Boardman Park.
Both teens are charged with aggravated trespass and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. The fight drew an estimated 100 teens and young adults last month to a wooded area in the park behind the Target store.
Authorities are still trying to identify the man carrying a gun in the Boardman video.