In this video, four male juveniles are arrested after school in what appeared to be an unrelated event. Also see our video gallery for more videos of the events at Gilroy High School.

State education officials reviewing Gilroy High School saw more than they expected when police arrested seven students for participating in a gang-related scuffle and a separate violent food fight that involved hundreds of teenagers, most of whom laughed off the whole experience.

School administrators and police, on the other hand, treated the situation with vigilance. California Highway Patrolmen wielded shotguns that fire sand bags and about 30 police officers in riot helmets patrolled the campus and guarded gated exit points as students left in staggered batches, most of them chatting on their cell phones about what happened. The reaction surprised many students, but officials said they did not want to take any chances after struggling to rush hundreds of kids into classrooms at the end of lunch after the day's second 5- to 10-minute fight broke out.

Five police officers were already on campus then because two hours earlier they arrested a suspected male Norteño gang member and a suspected male Sureño member who started fighting during brunch, when one of them allegedly threw oatmeal at the other, according to police and students. A school official quickly called police as administrators tried to break up that 5- to 10-minute scuffle, according to students. Sgt. John Sheedy said neither juvenile sustained serious injuries.

Then, a couple hours later, another fight started in the outdoor courtyard during lunch, spurring what one officer called a "school melee." Hundreds of students swirled around, aimlessly punching as students on the outskirts threw food - mostly apples and milk - into the mix, students and police said. Some students complained that police officers were too forceful in breaking up the chaos, pushing handcuffed students down and such, but Sheedy assured The Dispatch that nobody sustained serious injuries and that officers reacted appropriately and did not use electronic stun guns on any students, despite rumors.

"It was like a mosh pit," junior Hillary Mueller said. "The administrators couldn't get in there to break it up."

"Everybody - the whole school - just started throwing stuff," junior David Perez said. "It was pretty sick."

Plenty of other students found humor in the incident, too, but not the adults, and especially not Principal James Maxwell. He was coincidentally hosting reviewers from the California School Recognition Program, which is considering giving Gilroy High School an award for distinguished academic performance.

"Today was not the day to have them come," Maxwell said with a sigh as students spilled out onto the streets. "Every couple of years you get a riot like this, and a lot of kids think this is a big joke, but it's not."

"It is kind of funny," Mueller said. "They were here to review our classes and congratulate us, and then this happened.

Police also arrested at least four juveniles near Carmel and Sixth streets as students walked home, but it was unclear if those arrests were connected to the fight.

After the second fight, police arrested two juvenile females and three juvenile males for fighting as well as delaying and obstructing some of the officers on scene. Sheedy added that one of the arrestees may have had a knife, but that was unconfirmed as of 4 p.m. Friday.

Carlos Cortez and Ariana Vera, both seniors, said the incident did not scare them but they did not describe it as funny either. Instead, they said the mess confused them.

"I was like, 'Whoa! What's going on?'" Vera said.

"When everyone was running around, (officers) were pointing their (riot control) shotguns at me," Cortez said as a cop looked around with a German shepherd sitting next to him. "I think this is an overreaction to what happened."

Without such overt protection, though, Sheedy said another brawl could have erupted. This way, if it had, officers were much more prepared.

"We use equipment that is important for our safety and the safety of the citizens," Sheedy said. "You get a couple people fighting, but then a couple hundred start rushing."

Despite the overwhelming incident, Sheedy praised GHS staff for their hard work.

"The staff at Gilroy High School, from all the reports my officers have given me, did an outstanding job handling their responsibilities on campus," he said.

Strewn milk, chunks of fruit, wrappers and other remnants of lunch littered the outdoor courtyard after the fight, which also landed an additional 15 to 20 students in detention, according to police.

Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Deborah Flores said school officials will stay in touch with police over the weekend to come up with disciplinary plans by Monday "in case we need to take additional action" beyond indefinite suspensions for the seven students who Flores said do not represent the high school.

"I've been on this campus regularly, and it's a very safe, orderly campus," Flores said. "This involved a small group of kids - seven out of 2,600-plus students."

Frantic parents felt like they were not invovled, though, calling The Dispatch to bemoan poor communication from school officials. The school was not answering phone calls, they said, but the school did send out an all-call to parents after the second fight, Flores said.

If anyone has photos or videos of the events at Gilroy High School today please send them to editor@garlic.com.