Scare at Wichita South High when students use fireworks and yell ‘gun,’ official says

Students caused a scare during a large brawl at Wichita South High School at the end of lunch on Friday when some threw poppers in the hallways and yelled “gun,” according to district spokesperson Susan Arensman.

Arensman, in an email, said there was a fight “ involving a large group of people.” She said the school resource officer went to get help to break up the crowd when “students decided to cause additional disruption and threw poppers in the hallway” and yelled “gun.”

“Those students have also been disciplined,” she said.

Principal Travis Rogers said an email to parents and guardians saying: “Administration and security is currently identifying the students and we do have extra police on property.”

He said parents and guardians who “feel the need” can pick up their students.

A Sedgwick County Emergency Communications supervisor said just after 1 p.m. there were reports that someone had a gun, but officers haven’t found one. He said police were first called to the school at 11:37 a.m.

It’s been a tumultuous week at high schools around the largest district in the state.

• A 16-year-old boy was arrested Monday at Wichita West High School after he was found with a gun.
• About seven or eight students were involved in a brawl Wednesday in the cafeteria of Southeast High School. A school security officer used pepper spray to break up a crowd.
• There were two brawls outside of Wichita West High School on Thursday, one involving six to eight students and another with three others. One student was arrested.
• A 16-year-old student was also arrested Thursday at Wichita East High School for having a handgun. The gun was found on the boy after a school resource officer got a tip from staff about a student having a gun.

“All these incidents this week are not related,” Arensman said in the email. “It is not normal for this many incidents to happen in one week, but sometimes incidents come in waves.”

The district has “increased adult supervision and we are looking into additional measures” at the schools, she said.

Wichita police spokesperson Trevor Macy said police are looking into the recent brawls and guns found at the schools.

“I don’t have information at this time to say whether they are or are not related,” he said. “I don’t have any information at this time to suggest gang activity.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 1:24 PM.