Racial conflict at school

Conflict between black and Latino students has caused the closing of a school in California:

Officials at a new high school in Rialto on Wednesday closed the campus for the rest of the week in response to Tuesday's lunchtime brawl between black and Latino students, the second such fight in less than a week.

The melee at Wilmer Amina Carter High School started after the groups of students lined up and faced each other, and one student allegedly threw a water bottle. Food and trash cans were then hurled, and fistfights broke out, said Marilyn Cardosi, a spokeswoman for the Rialto Unified School District.

"The nurse administered first-aid to 47 students either affected by pepper spray used by security to break up the fight, or students were treated for minor cuts and abrasions, like a cut over the eye, a cut to the hand," Cardosi said. "There were no serious injuries of students or staff, thankfully."

More than 2,000 students were in the central courtyard finishing lunch shortly before noon when the fight broke out. Administrators canceled classes for the rest of the week, and, because Monday will be the official start of holiday break, students will not return until Jan. 3.