Menu
Brawl at Gideon High School cancels remainder of Bulldog Classic
GIDEON, Mo. - A fight during the final day of play at the Bulldog Classic forced a cancelation for the remaining games.
At approximately 7:52 p.m., during halftime of the Kennett and Hayti game to determine a third-place victor, a brawl broke out in the lobby of Gideon High School’s gym.
Witnesses said they saw a gun, causing most bodies in the gym to flee.
However, according to the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department, no shots were fired.
According to Kennett’s Superintendent Dr. Richie Leeker, Kennett School District, Gideon School administration and all involved in the tournament are in contact with each other to figure out the exact details of this situation.
“At this time we are still working with Gideon’s administration to understand what happened,” Leeker said.”
This is the second year the Gideon tournament was cut short due to a brawl. Last year a fight between two teams forced a cancelation.
The fight this year seemed to have been between two participating teams in the Gideon tournament according to witnesses. There were no injuries. The New Madrid County Police Sheriff’s are still investigating matters.
“The scene was quickly gotten under control by officers,” reads the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Facebook. “Multiple officers from surrounding agencies assisted. This included New Madrid County Sheriffs, Portageville Police, Gideon Police, Clarkton Police, Dunklin County Sheriffs, New Madrid Police, and Pemiscot County Sheriffs.”
Updated information
Following a brawl in the lobby of Gideon High School’s gym during halftime of Kennett vs. Hayti’s third-place game in the Bulldog Classic, witnesses reported the altercation involved fans from Hayti and South Pemiscot.
This incident follows a similar disturbance from last year’s Bulldog Classic tournament where a “physical altercation” broke out between South Pemiscot and Caruthersville. This led to severe consequences for the Caruthersville School District.
In 2023, the Caruthersville Tigers were suspended from the Bootheel Athletic Conference in all athletic programs.
Also following this event at the 2023 Gideon Tournament, the conference issued a warning to the South Pemiscot R-V School District, which passed with a 7-0 vote. It remained in effect throughout the 2023-2024 academic year as the conference cited “two events over the past two years” involving South Pemiscot.
The Bootheel Conference has taken steps to address these recurring issues.
The league amended its constitution to include penalties for fan and player misconduct. These penalties range from warnings to suspensions or even expulsion from the conference.
Updated information Excerpt from the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department Incident Report:
The brawl which occurred on Friday night at Gideon High School is still an open investigation.
According to police reports, a New Madrid County officer and a Pemiscot County SRO were present at the Bulldog Classic game when a brawl broke out in the main lobby of Gideon High School’s gym.
It is reported a small group of teenagers entered the lobby, paid for admissions then made their way to the concession stand and attacked students in line. According to the reports, multiple fights were happening among the students but reiterates there were no weapons involved in the fight.
The gym was cleared with the help of responding officers and the school’s administration. There were no further issues during the clearing of the property.
Gideon High School Principal Tolby Richardson and Athletic Director Keenan Buchanan were later contacted by law enforcement to view footage of the incident. Richardson advised police the cameras in this area of the gym do not work well and it is hard to tell what happened from its viewing. The reports state a follow-up will be made on Monday, Dec. 9. to conduct a further investigation.
Following the incident, South Pemiscot School District released this statement,
“There was an incident that occurred at the Gideon Tournament that took place between Hayti students and some of our ballplayers. We do not know exactly what the root cause that spurred on the violent action…”
Police have been unable to identify any witnesses who saw a weapon used in the incident and have been unable to identify the students who caused the incident.
This is a developing story, as the incident is still an open investigation. No arrests have been made and no major injuries. A few bystanders have reported being injured in the rush to clear the gym and path of violence.