The incident happened around 3:00 p.m. Thursday in the 900 block of Brill Street in the Summerdale neighborhood.
The melee ended with three officers - two Philadelphia police officers and one Philadelphia School District officer - injured and other officers chasing the suspects through the streets of Oxford Circle.
It began as class was being let out at Fels High School, a few blocks from the 900 block of Brill Street where the officers were allegedly assaulted.
"Apparently males were awaiting for dismissal to confront other males and there was a series of fistfights in the area near the school," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Carl Holmes said.
Surveillance video shows students running across Brill Street to watch a fight that had broken out.
One of the injured officers told Action News he was hit in the jaw while breaking up the fight. Another said he suffered bruises to the back of his head.
But it was a Philadelphia police officer who apparently got the worst of it. Police say he was punched in the mouth and nose and required treatment from an oral surgeon.
"The boy socked the cop who had a stick. And then there was a couple of them hitting them. His nose was bloody and I think his lip was also busted," Fels student Jahira Nixon said.
Holmes says two males were injured while being subdued by police during the incident.
Five suspects were taken into custody.
Only Action News was on scene as they were taken from a van into Northeast Detectives for questioning.
The juveniles attend Fels, Dobbins, and Olney high schools.
"We don't know what started the disturbance. There apparently were some ongoing tensions within several neighborhoods with these young men. We are still investigating it," Holmes said.
