Madison's Memorial High School was on edge on Friday, the day after a racially tinged fight and amid rumors of a possible gun at school. Students were sent home just before 1 p.m.

Police set up a command post and five detectives were brought in to help more than 10 officers determine if a safety threat existed. No guns were found and no fights or incidents were reported.

The police intervention — which also included officers who followed school buses and monitored West Towne Mall and Metro Transit transfer points — came after a fight between black and Latino students at the school on Thursday. Several students were arrested, and the fight sparked rumors of retaliation, including reports that a gun might have been brought to school on Friday, police and school district officials said,

No gun was found, said Luis Yudice, the district's security coordinator, but officials decided that closing the school "was simply the safest thing to do."

One student was arrested Friday for possessing a sharp, pointed homemade object. Officer Shannon Blackamore, Memorial's educational resource officer, said the student, who is Latino, had not been involved in Thursday's incident.

Student charged

On Friday, student Christina D. Smith, 17, was charged under hate crime statutes with substantial battery and disorderly conduct in connection with Thursday's fight.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court, Smith repeatedly punched a 17-year-old Latina student in the face. The Latina student lost consciousness. She later told police that as she came out of class, a group of black students called a group of Latino students "wetbacks," the complaint states.

The Latina student said she told one of the black students, who is not identified in the complaint, to stop saying insulting things. He replied that she should "do something" about it, then a group of black girls rushed forward and fought with Latino students.

The battery charge includes two enhancers that could bring a stiffer sentence: one for the alleged hate crime and another for violence in a school zone.

After Thursday's fight, Yudice said, "Rumors started flying." He said he received calls from parents concerned there might be retaliation and continuing conflict between students on Friday. Students came forward to report information, with some saying they heard other students were going to bring weapons to school, he said.

Students 'frightened'

"The majority of the information we received turned out to be rumor," Yudice said.

Still, Yudice said, "Tensions were very high. Some students were frightened."

"Everyone was nervous all day," said student Becky King. "We were in our fourth-period class for an extra hour and a half."

Along with a rumor that someone had brought a gun to school, students said there was talk that a large fight was going to take place during the first lunch period.

District spokesman Ken Syke said lunch was postponed and a short time later students were sent home.

A home football game between Memorial and Janesville Parker went on as scheduled Friday night with additional police and portable lighting to illuminate dark areas in the parking lot and behind the stadium.

Classes are scheduled to resume on Monday, again with an increased police presence.

Yudice called Thursday's fight as an isolated incident that began between two students and escalated. "There is no indication to believe this is gang-related," he said. "Up until this time, the high school has been having an excellent year."

But Yudice acknowledged that there have been prior incidents involving black and Latino students, including a recent attack on a middle-school student who suffered serious injuries.

Earlier fight

Some students said tensions between black and Latino students have been building since an earlier fight two weeks ago.

Senior Charisa Strauffacher and junior Daniela Robledo said they have heard students being called derogatory names at school and on bus rides home, and that there have been prior fights of a smaller scale. Both expressed fear that tension between blacks and Latinos could move to the Metro transfer points and shopping areas.

Senior LaDeidra Wilson said she was scared at school on Friday. "I don't know what will happen Monday."

Assistant Superintendent Pam Nash said plans are being formulated to work with the students and their parents to provide "different avenues than retaliation and threats."

Superintendent Daniel Nerad also called on parents to talk with their children about safety in schools and taking personal responsibility to keep others safe.

Memorial parent Suzanne Burris said she was feeling "a little uneasy."

"A lot will depend on what happens at the football game (Friday night) and at school Monday," Burris said. "If things go well, I think the situation will settle back down quite quickly and people will go back to feeling safe."

Game quiet

Into the third quarter Friday, there was no obvious indication that staff or students were on edge. The stands were half-empty but school staff said that could be due to the wet weather or Memorial's loss last week.

"This is probably the most low-key game I've worked all year," assistant principal Matt Hendrickson said.

He said that if the game, which Memorial won, was an indication of what was to come next week, he was "optimistic."

Hendrickson said "people are making a lot of" the racial implications of the fight, but he said it's an overgeneralization to say there is widespread racial tension between blacks and Latinos at the school.

"I don't really think it's racial," senior Jeronne Maymon, 17, said about the dispute that led to Thursday's fight. His friend, Xavier Jones, 18, agreed, but said that the dispute will probably "come back to the school."

"I think it's just a small group of kids that are causing a problem," said Debbie Polster, a teacher at Memorial who was working security Friday night and has a son at the school. "It's something that I think will be pretty much under control after a week or two."

Burris — who is co-president of the school's Parent Teacher Student Organization but said she was speaking only for herself — said she believes a small percentage of students are troublemakers and that school officials apply swift, consistent discipline that sends a strong zero-tolerance message. "I never feel these problems are swept under the rug."

Her daughter, Chelsea, a senior, said she was not scared while at school Friday. "There were so many cops there, I felt very safe," she said.

State Journal reporters Amy Knapp, Megan Corbett, Doug Erickson and Chris Rickert contributed to this article.