East Ridge police arrested a number of juveniles on Wednesday in connection with brawling at Pioneer Frontier playground.
According to a press release from Chief Stan Allen, 11 arrests were made of juveniles from East Ridge Middle and East Ridge High School. The arrests came after an investigation into multiple fights occurring at the park on March 3, 5 and 6.
The juveniles were taken to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center and were charged with Disorderly Conduct and/or Aggravated Criminal Trespassing, the press release states.
Those arrested ranged in ages from 14 to 17, Chief Allen said. When asked the genders of those arrested, Chief Allen said he wasn’t releasing that information to protect the minors.
Chief Allen told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that police believe those charged used social media to plan the fights at the park while they were at school.
The arrest of the juveniles comes on the heels of a Friday arrest of a man at the park allegedly wielding a knife during a fight.
Andre Thomas, 40, of a 2nd Avenue address in Chattanooga, was charged with Felony Reckless Endangerment. He was released from jail on a $5,000 bond and is due to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on April 14, officials said.
An affidavit of complaint against Thomas states that police were called to the playground on Tombras Avenue next to City Hall at 2:45 p.m. on a “fight.” When the first officer arrived, the report states, he saw about 30 people congregated in front of the History Museum and the park. As he got out of his vehicle several people began running from the scene shouting “he has a gun.”
Officers spoke to several witnesses who said that Thomas brandished and swung a knife in the middle of a crowd of juveniles. According to the affidavit, witnesses told police that Thomas said he was going to get some “heat,” meaning he was going to get a gun while walking back to his car parked in a nearby lot.
_ In an unconnected incident on Wednesday, police were called to East Ridge Middle School just after noon on a “person shot” dispatch. Police officials said the incident was a “prank,” as a student apparently used an unattended phone in a classroom to make the call to Hamilton County 911.
