Person charged with assaulting police officer after Hamilton school brawl

By RNZ

A Hamilton college was put in lockdown and a person was arrested for assaulting police after a reported brawl.

Mangakōtukutuku College principal Thilo Govender said on social media the school contacted police to get “an incident” under control and the school was back to normal before the end of the school day on Tuesday.

“During lunchtime there was an incident that prompted our leadership to adopt lockdown procedures to keep our students safe.

“We contacted the police who were very supportive in getting the situation under control. Our school is now back to normal timetabled classes,” Govender said just after 2pm.

A police spokesperson said they are making inquiries into the incident, and were working with the school.

“Police responded to a disorder at a school in Melville just after midday yesterday. One person has been arrested for assaulting police,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, parents on social media have been saying they are too scared to send their children back to school.

One said they intended keeping their child home for the rest of the week, as they did not feel the school was safe.

RNZ has approached both the school and the police for comment.

Mangakōtukutuku College was established this year on the old Melville High School site, after both Melville High and Intermediate Schools were closed by the Ministry of Education.