Boy, 15, and man in his 20s arrested over viral violent ‘school wars’ trend

A man in his 20s has been arrested in connection with the viral ‘school wars’ trend which encouraged pupils to ‘be violent’ towards each other.

Two suspects, a man in his 20s and a 15-year-old boy, have been arrested on suspicion of encouraging or assisting in crime.

They are believed to be the first arrests in connection with the trend, which Metro was the first to reveal, told pupils to bring compasses and combs to fight each other.

Parents across London were told to pick up their children from the school gates, as teenagers were told to ‘jug and bang’ pupils from different schools if you were on Team Blue or Team Red.

The Metropolitan Police said: ‘On Sunday, 1 March at approximately 18:45hrs, Met officers arrested two individuals in Central East London in connection with a recent trend of social media posts.

‘Both suspects, a man aged in his 20s and a boy aged 15, were arrested on suspicion of encouraging or assisting in a crime. They remain in police custody.

‘A strong police presence remains around schools, particularly at the end of the school day.

‘Local officers continue to work alongside local authority partners, school leaders and parents, whose joint robust response has been vital in protecting young people across the last week.’

The first post made almost three weeks ago declared ‘war’ between eight different schools in Hackney – just days after two pupils were stabbed at Kingsbury High School.

Other areas were quick to follow suit, including in Newham, Harrow, Greenwich and Croydon – to name just a few.

Tower Hamlets have also organised their own, which lists a number of schools on the ‘green’ or ‘black’ side.

Other posts have also organised on fights between entire boroughs, including one covering North London.

Pupils were also at risk of being ‘jumped’ without even knowing about the posts.

One grandmother, who has a grandson in year 9 in Hackney, said as Mare Street is pedestrianied children will be more vulnerable with nowhere to hide.

She said: ‘There is no hiding on that street, everything is completely open.

‘What if a pupil just happens to be walking through it and gets jumped? It’s a disaster waiting to happen.’

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