A 911 caller told dispatchers that there had been a “large disturbance” and that one person may have been pepper sprayed.
Multiple police cruisers were on scene, along with a Dayton ambulance.
Parents were seen coming to the library to try to find their children after the evacuation.
The library reopened a little before 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Officials posted an announcement to library’s website sometime after Wednesday’s incident stating the main branch will close from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. The Main Library will return to regular business hours on Saturday before closing for the holidays on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to the announcement.
Dayton Public Schools in a statement shared that none of its students were involved in the first fight reported to police Wednesday. During another fight that broke out at around 4 p.m., adults not associated with the school district reportedly “antagonized” and fought DPS students.
DPS has a zero-tolerance policy for fighting — whether it’s on or off school grounds — and is actively investigating the incident, according to school officials.
“It is extremely unfortunate that students utilizing the library were victims of an assault,” the school district statement said. “The District continues to work closely with the city of Dayton, including Mayor (Jeffrey) Mims and City Manager (Shelley) Dickstein, to find solutions to curtail all violence throughout our community.”
Dayton Metro External Relations and Development Director Debi Chess declined to comment on the details of the incident, but said the library always keeps the safety of its patrons in mind.
Fights involving youth have shut down this and other library branches multiple times this year. The Main Library branch downtown has seen a large increase in police calls for service this year, primarily due to proactive patrols.
The issue even spurred a community forum in October seeking ways to curb the problem, and led to increased security and reduced hours at some branches.
Reporter Cornelius Frolik contributed to this report.
