Playground punch-up leaves 49 people needing medical treatment, including headmistress with a broken hand, after spiralling out of control

Initial fight broke out between five boys over a football at school in Berlin
It quickly escalated into a mass brawl involving pupils, teachers and police

A punch-up in a playground left 49 people – including the headmistress – needing medical treatment after a high school fight descended into chaos.

The initial fight broke out between five boys aged 14 and 15 over a football at the Efeuweg Community School on Monday in southern Berlin but it quickly escalated into a mass brawl involving pupils, teachers and police officers.

Dozens of pupils were punched, two teachers were pepper sprayed while the school’s headmistress, 52, suffered a broken finger after being thrown against a wall when she tried to break up the fight, reports Bild.

Police were called to the school but the carnage didn’t stop there. A pupil’s older brother arrived at the scene and punched an officer, who responded by hitting the 21-year-old with a bat.

The punch-up began when two boys, aged 14 and 15, were arguing with three others of the same age over a football. As the argument became more heated, the 14-year-old lunged at the larger group with pepper spray, according to police.

When the 14-year-old dropped the spray, one of the pupils from the larger group took the spray and sprayed it at the duo.

Police said a sixth student, also aged 15, attacked the older of the duo with a series of punched to their body. At this moment, other students who were stood in the playground quickly got involved and exchanged blows in a chaotic punch-up.

Two shocked teachers, aged 30 and 38, ran towards the brawling pupils and tried to break up the fight – but they were also attacked and sprayed with the pepper spray, reports Tagesspiegel.

The headmistress, hearing the ruckus outside, ran towards the students to try and break up the fight but she was pushed by the youngsters – so hard that she broke her finger after being thrown against a wall.

The headmistress and another teacher, who was asthmatic, were taken to hospital following the mass brawl at the school of 750 students.

Police were called to the scene but that wasn’t the end of the chaos. Police at the scene said the big brother of the 15-year-old who was part of the duo arrived at the school and punched an officer in the face.

The officer responded by hitting the 21-year-old in the face, leaving him with a busted lip. Police said they offered to give him medical treatment but he refused and threatened the officers. He was arrested before being released.

Police said the punch-up left 49 people including teachers needing treatment for their injuries. Local media report several people involved are being investigated by police for bodily harm.

Following the violent outburst, the education administration has set up a crisis team and called in school psychologists.

‘We will continue to communicate to ensure the best possible support for our school,’ school supervisors said.

The school, where 81.3 per cent of students have German as their second language, has also employed in-house security guards to roam the corridors with the hope it will stem any further violence.

The school had been guarded by the security guards but the district had cut their funding completely for financial reasons this summer.

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