Jealousy over a taxi operator seemed to have sparked a heated showdown between two sets of female students from a Kingston high school yesterday evening.

The high drama occurred in the heart of downtown Kingston, drawing a large crowd and forcing police to intervene and detain some of the girls.

THE STAR understands that about 5 p.m., on their way home from school, the students, who have been having a long-standing feud, got into a fight, but were not given the chance to finish their struggle, as nearby police officers quickly accosted three of them and took them to the police station.

According to one of the students, "One of my friends and some other girls have a little thing over a man, but in no time the people part wi and took us to the police station. One of the girls dem get a cut on her hand but she told the police that she don't want to press any charges, so the police jus' warn we and tell we that we should go home."

Interestingly, THE STAR learnt that after the students were released from the police station, one of them was given a threat.

"When I was at the bus stop two men came up to me and one said that he knows my face, and that he is gonna come to my school tomorrow because we love buy out things too much. When I reach home, I told my mother so she said that she is going to go back to the police and make a report," one of the students said.

Meanwhile, when contacted, the City Centre police confirmed the incident.

According to Inspector Percival Buddan, who is in charge of the City Centre Police Station, there is a growing concern about students who lurk downtown after school hours, with some being seen in compromising positions.

"We have been having an increase in students fighting generally. Some of the female students fight over taxi operators, and conductors so we have stepped up our drive to really get them off the streets after school hours, which can be challenging at times," he said.