High School Party Turns into Nightmare

Students get into large brawl in backyard, both end up arrested

Late last Tuesday night at 10:45 pm patrol officer Robert Smith received a call for a public disturbance on 72nd Grooveluck St. which had been reported by various neighbors. Upon arrival at the home the police encountered a party playing loud music with people running around the neighborhood drunk, nothing they hadnt ever seen before. So following procedure officer Smith and his partner whose name was not disclosed rang the doorbell and asked that they turn off the music, as it was getting too (http://www.straightupvc.org/images/realityparty.jpg loud. The partygoers agreed and went right back ) to partying. 10 minutes later they were called in again as the music had not been turned off. Upon arrival the second time both officers again followed procedure, they knocked on the door, only this time they entered the house to ensure that the music was turned off. What they found inside was various high school students passed out drunk on the couches and floor, and an unsettling crowd out in the back yard. What was reported as a heated conflict inside between two students identified as Ian Thompson and DeAndre Johnson ended up in an all-out brawl outside between the two. As witnesses told police Ian Thompson pulled out a knife and threatened to stab his opponent, but when he lunged forward DeAndre Johnson revealed a gun that was hidden in his pocket and shot Ian in the shoulder once. Police heard the gunshot and immediately took action ending the party, cuffing DeAndre, and calling the paramedics. Doctors successfully removed the bullet form Ians shoulder and were able to get him bandaged up. He spent the night at the hospital and was taken to the station the next day. DeAndre was immediately taken down to the station where he spent the night. After further review, police found that both teens were highly intoxicated and had consumed alcohol as well as various other drugs. The argument was apparently caused by both students fighting over a girl who was attending the party. The case was taken to court on Wednesday afternoon where it was decided that Ian Thompson would have

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to serve 16 hours of community service while DeAndre Johnson would spend 2 months in Juvenile Hall and then need to serve an extra 5 hours of community service when released. This isnt the first time that alcohol and teens have been a problem in this town, less than 2 months ago after a similar party 25 students missed school because they were hung-over. Local high schools have been making efforts to inform student of the consequences of drinking and taking drugs, as well as contacting parents in hopes of controlling the amount of unsupervised parties being held. All across the United States teenage drinking is a growing issue, according to statistics by age 18 over 70% of teens have had at least one drink, and over 5,000 people under the age of 21 die every year from alcohol related accidents such as car crashes and alcohol poisoning. Apart from accidents and injuries, alcohol causes impaired judgment which often leads to violence and sexual assault. Another risk of drinking under age is the risk of brain development problems, studies show that brain development goes into your twenties and that excessive drinking before that age can affect development and causes a range of problems. (NIAA.com) Imagine that one night when someone in your family or a close friend is driving home, that he crashes and dies because a drunk driver skipped a stop sign or a red light. This is not only a possibility but a reality that many people face every day. Drinking and driving is a large problem, and many of the drunk drivers that are found on the road are under the age of 21. After the incident on Tuesday night, mayor McCollum managed the media Wednesday morning, he said Underage drinking has always been a problem, from when you and I were kids to kids now days, but as parents we need to understand and educate our children to understand the dangers faced when binge drinking and the bad decisions that could affect you for the rest of your life. As a city we will step up our problem by further enforcing id checks when buying liquor and arrest anyone carrying a fake ID. If you (http://blog.nj.com/bayonne_impact/2009/01/large_bayonne-mayor-mark-smith-speech.jpg) ever see or hear an issue in your neighborhood involving loud parties with alcohol make sure to contact police to look into the problem. The issue at hand is being solved appropriately, both minors will be taken to court later today and we will know their punishment by tonight. No further comments. Even after the hardships this town and country have faced when it comes to underage drinking, we persist to raise our children knowing the consequences and fight to free our land of the problem. We wish for a safer tomorrow with less intoxicated driving and loud dangerous parties.