North Carolina Campus Police Arrest Student During Snowball Fight
Friday, January 23, 2009
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GREENVILLE, N.C. — Campus police at East Carolina University said they made one arrest and used pepper spray on some students as officers tried to control a huge snowball fight on campus.

Police were called to a dormitory three times as more than 200 students pelted each other with snowballs as a rare snowstorm dropped several inches of snow in eastern North Carolina on Tuesday, The Daily Reflector of Greenville reported Thursday.

Some witnesses said they were hit hard by indiscriminately hurled snowballs.

"It all started in good nature, but then people were throwing them as hard as they could at each other. They were everywhere," said junior Brandon Davis, noting he got hit in the head.

He said a girl was knocked to the ground after being hit in the face with a snowball thrown from 10 feet away, while another student cried after getting hit in the eye.

Police said an officer used pepper spray on a group of students that rushed officers trying to make an arrest. Authorities estimate between 200 and 250 people were involved, but no serious injuries were reported.

Matt Lunchick, a junior, said he saw an officer tackle and arrest a student after the officer was hit with a snowball in the back. He also said officers told some students not to dump tubs of snow into cars.

Steven Rashad Bass, 18, was arrested and charged with assault on a government official, and resisting, delaying and obstructing a law enforcement officer. He was later released from the Pitt County Detention Center, jail officials said Thursday.

Bass was scheduled to appear in court March 3. His telephone number couldn't be found, and he didn't immediately return an e-mail Thursday.