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This article was published 15/3/2012 (3119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A police officer examines a pickup truck on the boulevard near the Kingsway entrance to Kelvin High School.

A schoolyard brawl sent flashes of fear through the halls of Kelvin High School on Thursday, leaving five youths wounded in the melee.

The fight broke out at about 1 p.m. while many students were still on their lunch break. Witnesses said two vehicles -- at least one containing youths who do not attend Kelvin -- pulled up near the school on Kingsway and began fighting with a group of Kelvin students near the steps to the school's doors.

Supplied photo Photo on Twitter taken from inside the school by an unidentified student during lockdown.

Approximately 15 to 20 kids jumped into the fray, witnesses said, with many wielding weapons: a machete, baseball bat, baton and pellet gun were all spotted in the fight. Five people were injured, including one who was taken to hospital in unstable condition; that victim was later upgraded to stable. At least some of the injured were Kelvin students, the Winnipeg School Division confirmed.

"It was pretty gruesome," said Nick, 15, who watched the brawl unfold.

Within moments, teachers initiated a lock-out protocol, designed to keep violence from invading the school. "They took control pretty quick," said Kean, 14. "They took it pretty well."

Students were cleared from the hallways and rushed into classrooms -- but at first, many didn't think the teachers' urgent commands were for real. "We were like, 'Oh, is this a drill?' " said Brittney Duke, 16, who was in a student club meeting at the time. "But some kids were acting panicky. You could hear them all running through the halls and teachers yelling 'Get in this class.' "

While students milled about in classrooms, police combed the scene. They soon located a suspect vehicle at the corner of Scotland Avenue and Lilac Street and took three male occupants into custody. The school was declared safe at approximately 1:30 p.m. The school sent a letter to parents about the "unfortunate incident," and classes resumed as usual -- though the shocking fight left many students rattled.

Police said they shared their worries.

"It's certainly a very concerning incident," Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Natalie Aitken said during a hastily called news conference at the Public Safety Building late Thursday afternoon. "Any time any type of violence happens in or around schoolyards, that's something police are concerned about, as are everyone who resides in that community and other students."

By 2:30 p.m., little obvious evidence remained of the brawl. Kids walking home made their way around a maroon Ford F-150 truck that sat parked over the sidewalk near the school's Kingsway entrance, its windows and passenger-side mirror smashed.

Many students, including several who knew the kids involved in the brawl, said the fight broke out over a drug dispute, specifically cocaine. Police could not confirm that allegation on Thursday, but added more information could be released today.

Aitken did say the attack wasn't random and some of the participants in the brawl did know some of the suspects.

"Somehow, there are individuals that are known to one another," Aitken said. "We don't know the specifics of that and we don't know what that dispute entails."

While most teens outside Kelvin said they were shocked to see an outbreak of violence at what they called a "very safe" school, some students, who asked not to be named, said they "knew something was going to go down."

Late Thursday afternoon, the Winnipeg School Division issued a release saying the division is working with police on the ongoing investigation.

"Our immediate concern at this time is the students and the families of the students who were injured," the release stated. "The division commends the staff and students of Kelvin High School for handling this emergency in a safe and efficient manner."

-- With files from Aldo Santin

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca