Police took four Newark High School Basketball players into custody last night after a verbal altercation turned physical at Belleville High School.
The incident happened at around 9 p.m. after the school was hosting a varsity basketball game against The Marion P. Thomas Charter School of Newark.
According to preliminary reports, a verbal confrontation erupted inside a hallway of the building between cheerleaders from the Marion P. Thomas Charter School and spectators from Belleville High School -shortly before the end of the game- causing police and officials to isolate the cheerleaders to a room while escorting spectators out of the building.
The dispute reportedly turned physical outside where Bloomfield Police assisted Belleville Police officers in an attempt to disperse a crowd that gathered near the Marion P. Thomas school bus reports said.
As police began to move along the crowd, officers were seen engaged in a struggle to arrest two males for an unspecified reason according to reports.
Police took two additional suspects into custody and charged the four males with disorderly conduct.
Parents identified the adult-aged suspects as players from Marion P. Thomas.
They released from the Washington Avenue police precinct at around 2:30 a.m. after being booked and given court appearance dates,
There were no physical injuries immediately reported.
The incident remains under investigation.