Parents arrested after flag football game fight, threats in Wyandanch

A varsity girls flag football game in Wyandanch ended with punches, a knife threat and a threat to shoot up a school after two parents joined a fight between students, Suffolk County police said.

Police said the confrontation followed the game between Southampton High School and Wyandanch Memorial High School on May 8 and quickly spilled beyond the field. Shalaya Gatlin, 37, of Shirley, punched a 16-year-old girl in the chest and another 16-year-old girl in the face, then threatened a 15-year-old girl, according to police. Gatlin was charged with three counts of harassment in the second degree and three counts of acting in a manner to injure a child.

Jonathan Perez, 35, of Shirley, also got involved, police said. He physically fought with a 16-year-old boy, threatened people with a knife and threatened to shoot up the school. Perez was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, making a threat of mass harm, menacing in the third degree, harassment in the second degree and acting in a manner to injure a child.

The three 16-year-old victims were treated for minor injuries. Both adults were scheduled to be arraigned in Central Islip.

The case puts a spotlight on how quickly a school sports event can become a public-safety emergency when adults step into student disputes. Girls flag football has become a regular part of Long Island high school athletics, and both Southampton and Wyandanch fielded teams in the 2025-26 season. Section XI Athletics lists girls flag football as a spring sport, and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association has an official girls flag football page, reflecting the sport’s place in sanctioned New York high school competition.

The sport’s rapid rise has also widened the number of games, sidelines and parking lots where parents, students and school staff are in close quarters. Long Island Press reported that New York added girls’ flag football as a championship sport in 2024, and more than 5,000 girls played the game in New York schools in the spring. Suffolk County police have also previously arrested a parent in a separate 2025 case involving an alleged assault on a teenager at a high school, underscoring how volatile those settings can become when adults lose control.