4 adults charged in knife fight at Sayreville, NJ school

SAYREVILLE —  Police arrested four adults who got involved in a beef between students outside the high school on Thursday afternoon. One of the adults was charged with assaulting a teen with a knife.

Police said two Sayreville War Memorial High School students got into a "dispute" during the school day. At 2:20 p.m., after school was dismissed, four relatives and "associates" of one of the students joined the fray in front of the school along Washington Road.

Three men arrested across the street

Police assigned to the high school and middle school helped school administrators break up the fight.

Three of the adults were arrested at Kennedy Park, across the street from the school.

David Martinez, 27, of Staten Island, was charged with possession of metal knuckles.

Christopher Forlenza, 25, of Brooklyn, was charged with assault and conspiracy to commit assault.

Jeremiah DiMedici, 19, of Staten Island, was charged with assault and conspiracy to commit assault.

Video shows an assault with a knife

A fourth man, Christopher Torres, 24, of Staten Island, ran off before police could arrest him.

Police say bystander video shows Torres assaulting one of the students with a knife, although the student was not stabbed.

After the video was shown to police, officials placed the school in a shelter-in-place mode as police searched for Torres.

The Middlesex County K9 unit was brought in to help with the search as a picture of Torres was released to the public via the Sayreville police social media platforms.

A two-hour search

Torres was found in the park around 4:30 p.m. and the shelter-in-place was lifted. He was charged with aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit assault

Police did not disclose the nature of the dispute or the identities of the students involved.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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