Five arrested after fight breaks out at Reedley graduation ceremony

Five people were arrested after a disturbance broke out during graduation ceremonies at Reedley High School Stadium, turning a milestone night for Kings Canyon Unified School District students and families into a police matter.

Reedley police said officers were already providing security assistance for the district’s Adult School and Mountain View School graduation ceremonies when the fight erupted Tuesday night. Video obtained by ABC30 showed several punches thrown as people in the stands appeared to rush toward the scuffle, adding to the chaos inside the packed stadium.

Police identified the arrested people as Adam Velasquez, 19; Jonathan Melena Garcia, 19; Mariano Malena Garcia, 22; Nicholas Perez, 18; and Andrew Velasquez, 20. The department said the arrests included disturbing the peace and obstruction of a peace officer. Investigators were reviewing video footage and other evidence, and additional arrests or charges could follow.

Kings Canyon Unified had already treated the event as a security-sensitive gathering. Its posted graduation information said guests were required to pass through metal detectors at entry, and the district’s schedule listed the Kings Canyon Adult School and Mountain View School ceremony at Reedley High School Stadium with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and the program starting at 7:30 p.m.

The stadium has faced crowd-control issues before. A prior local report described families being locked out of a Kings Canyon graduation at Reedley High School’s football stadium, a reminder that access, screening and spectator behavior have become recurring concerns at large ceremonies in Reedley. Tuesday night’s disturbance only sharpened those questions, especially with students in caps and gowns and relatives gathered for one of the biggest nights of the school year.

For Reedley and Kings Canyon Unified, the immediate challenge is no longer just celebrating graduates. It is how to keep commencement events secure enough that students and families can mark the moment without a fight, a police response and an arrest list becoming part of the memory.