Laurel police step up patrols around high school after fights
After two cafeteria fights and a hospitalized student, Laurel High is getting more patrols, but parents still want a prevention plan that stops the violence before dismissal time.
Extra police patrols are now circling Laurel High School after two fights on campus and a string of student-related confrontations in nearby neighborhoods left families questioning how safe the end of the school year has become.
The school, at 8000 Cherry Lane in Laurel, is seeing a more visible law-enforcement presence after the fights on Friday, May 1, and Monday, May 4. The first started in the cafeteria. The second involved two groups of students tied to the earlier incident. Prince George’s County Public Schools said several students were suspended, and police responded at the request of the school resource officer.
For some parents, the concern is no longer theoretical. One mother said her son was hospitalized after the May 1 fight with a head injury and other wounds. Parents and community members have also been watching videos of fights circulate online from an account called Laurel School Fights, which has intensified fears that the violence is becoming part of the school’s daily culture rather than an isolated outburst.
The district has said it has seen a decline in reported fights at Laurel High over the last three school years, including 28 fights in the 2023-24 school year. Even with that broader trend, the recent cluster of incidents has pushed the issue back to the center of public attention, especially as PGCPS manages end-of-year schedule changes that can strain supervision and dismissal routines. That is the practical test now facing Laurel police, school officials and parents: whether stepped-up patrols are a short-term show of force or the start of a prevention plan that can keep students safe as they move through the final weeks of school.
Anthony Tilghman, chair of the Prince George’s County Public Schools Education Roundtable, said the problem requires a more preventive approach and pointed to the district’s Safe Passage pilot, launched in 2024, as one piece of that response. For students trying to get to class, and for nearby residents trying to keep normal routines, the question is whether more patrols will calm the campus around Laurel High or simply follow the next fight.
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