TAMPA - A fight earlier this month between two rival gang members at King High School is not indicative of a brewing gang problem at the campus, authorities said.

Julius King, 16, a known member of the Bloods, faces a felony battery charge after slugging another teen in the side of the head on Feb. 8, said Hillsborough County sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

The victim is a known member of the Cripps and was sitting in a school patio when King and four other Bloods approached him, Carter said.

One of the Bloods asked the victim to put away the beads around his neck that indicated his allegiance to the Cripps, and when he refused, King punched him, she said.

A school resource deputy investigated the fight, and it was considered an isolated incident, said Sgt. Ken Davis, who supervises the sheriff’s anti-gang task force.

“There are Bloods and Cripps going to school there every day,” he said. “But there’s no more gang activity at King High School than at any other high school in Hillsborough County at the moment. Unfortunately, just claiming to be a member of a gang is not a considered a crime.”

King was arrested Tuesday on the battery charge and was released after he posted $2,000 bond. On Thursday, deputies arrested him again on a probation violation stemming from a 2005 armed robbery conviction.

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