A brawl at Eaglecrest High School after recreation-league basketball games left at least five people injured Sunday night.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the fight was gang-related or sparked by racial tensions.
“We’ve heard race and gangs as being the catalysts, but we’ve had denials on all sides,” said Bruce Williamson, public-safety bureau chief of the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. “I don’t know what caused the fight; it is still under investigation.”
Williamson and Tustin Amole, a Cherry Creek School District spokeswoman, said the games were part of a private youth league — not a regularly scheduled high school game.
The school district rents space to civic groups and others for events and meetings, said Amole.
The fracas broke out after four youth-basketball teams made up of southeast metro-area teenagers finished their games, said Chris Curneen, vice president of JAM Inc., the basketball-league organizer.
“After all our games were done, something happened in the parking lot,” Curneen said. “Right now, we are still dealing with the police. I’m going to meet with them to see if any of our people were involved.”
Only two people required treatment, and they were later released from Medical Center of Aurora.
Williamson said investigators have been told that anywhere from 15 to 40 people were involved in the fight.
He said a focus of the investigation is a vehicle that carried six people, including a juvenile and an adult, who identified themselves as members of the Bloods Storming 80s street gang.
Williamson said there were five victims — two white and three black.
There is some gang presence around the Centennial high school, Williamson said.
“We have some influence, but it is not a bad presence (around Eaglecrest),” said Williamson. “We have some gang members and gang wannabes.”
JAM, a nonprofit youth basketball league, has been operating since 1990 and fields more than 500 teams throughout Colorado and in neighboring states, Curneen said.
Players range in age from fourth-graders to seniors in high school. Sunday night’s game at Eaglecrest involved about 40 high school students — freshmen to juniors — from southeast-metro schools, Curneen said.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
