One student dies in high school brawl

One student dies in high school brawl

JAKARTA (JP): A high school student died and at least three
others were seriously injured on Friday in a brawl between
students of Pelita High School and a state vocational high
school.

The brawl which caused the death of 16-year-old Munawir Gazali
occurred outside Pelita High School, on Jl. Achmad Yani in East
Jakarta.

East Jakarta police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Agus
Irianto said Munawir, a student of Pelita High School, died from
excessive blood loss caused by a stab wound to the stomach.

"We're on the lookout for the student responsible for this
murder...please give us time to investigate," Agus told reporters
on Friday.

Agus added that one student of SMK Negeri in East Jakarta also
had to undergo an operation at Persahabatan Hospital, in East
Jakarta, due to the seriousness of his wound.

According to residents, Munawir was not even part of the
brawl.

"He got down from a bus, and suddenly found himself stuck in
the middle of the brawl. He was just about to enter his
school...when suddenly some students surrounded him. When they
finally dispersed, Munawir was holding his bleeding stomach," a
police officer who normally secures the area, Irwanto, told
reporters at the scene.

There was no immediate explanation for the brawl but Irwanto
said students from the two schools have long been involved in a
feud which led to frequent brawls.

A witness, Pelita school student Siti, said Munawir was
alighting from a public bus in front of the school when the fight
broke out.

She said Munawir was trapped in the brawling crowd and ended
up falling prey.

Munawir, who was in first year, was rushed to Persahabatan
Hospital.

The last fatality in a student brawl in the capital occurred
in December, when a senior high school student was killed on Jl.
Subur in Menteng Atas subdistrict, South Jakarta. Sixteen-year-
old Heri Susanto died at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital
after sustaining 14 stab wounds.

Heri and 13 of his friends were due to go home after watching
a street motorbike race that took place on nearby Jl. Casablanca
that early morning when some 60 youths intercepted them. (ylt)