Concord police investigating Thursday night fight at popular swimming spot

The St. Paul’s dock where the incident took place.

The St. Paul’s dock where the incident took place. Sofie Buckminster / Monitor staff

By SOPHIE LEVENSONand SOFIE BUCKMINSTER

Monitor staff

Published: 06-21-2024 4:05 PM

Concord police and St. Paul’s campus security responded to a report of violence between two groups near the private school’s docks Thursday on Turkey Pond, a popular spot for young people in the Concord area to swim.

Witnesses said a fight broke out Thursday evening between three young men and four younger boys, who appeared to be in eighth or ninth grade and were part of a larger group, seven or eight kids total.

Two girls from John Stark Regional High School were on a parallel dock when the incident occurred. One of them described men with “man buns,” who sought a confrontation with “young kids,” whom she guessed to be about 14 years old. A 16-year-old student from Bow High School watched the attack from the same dock as the girls.

According to those witnesses, the group of kids settled on one of the two docks by the pond. The student from Bow said the men began “trash-talking” them.

The men then attempted to unscrew the dock where the kids sat from its attachment to land, but were unsuccessful. The younger group was watching the adults, which led to the confrontation and violence, both girls reported. 

The fight lasted about three minutes, the Bow student estimated.

A young woman with the men took a video of the fight on a cell phone, according to the two girls.

By the end of the fight, both groups were bloodied and the older group left while shouting obscenities, witnesses said.

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If assault charges are filed by police, they could be misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the severity of the attack and the ages of the victims.

Because the investigation is ongoing and no arrests had been made, police on the scene declined to comment on the situation. St. Paul’s Security declined a request for comment. Concord Police officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

Sophie Levenson can be reached at slevenson@cmon itor.com. Sofie Buckminster  can be reached at sbuckminster @cmonitor.com.