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'I started swinging, too': Woman describes brawl at DHS officeJan 27, 2013 (Belleville News-Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- EAST ST. LOUIS -- Two women who were involved in a brawl Tuesday afternoon at the Department of Human Services said they are the victims. However, neither woman had a clear explanation as to why the brawl, captured on a cellphone video and posted to YouTube, occurred. East St. Louis Police Chief Michael Floore said the women need to make a report at the police department. "No one has come forward at this point," he said. Floore said his department would do all it can to get to the bottom of the situation. Antwanisha McNeese, 20, said she went to the DHS office at 225 Ninth St. to get recertified for some assistance, accompanied by her friend, Stephanie Mathis, and a third person. McNeese said the two girls who started the fight came in after they arrived "and they started rolling their eyes." "They were calling their family telling them if they wanted to do something to us while we were in the public aid office," McNeese said. "I went to the back to see my case worker. When I came back they (Stephanie and the girls who allegedly started the fight) were already fighting. "I started swinging, too, because I had already gotten into it with them before. I had already made a police report with the Cahokia Police Department." The other women could not be reached for comment. Floore said his department received a call about the fight at 12:30 p.m. "When our officers arrived, the fight was over and all parties involved were gone," he said. Security guards told police that three to four black females were involved in a fight and that one of them had a pair of scissors that were retrieved by the guards, according to Floore. Exactly what prompted the women to engage in an all-out brawl is still not clear, Floore said. No one was injured. Januari Smith, DHS communications manager, said the chief of security is conducting an in-depth review of security at the building. ___ (c)2013 the Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.) Visit the Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.) at www.bnd.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |