The outdoor basketball court at Harpursville High School is open to anyone after school hours.

It was here Thursday evening that former students and a family got into fight.

"This was something that happened in a snapshot of time and who would have predicted that they would choose the school grounds to play out whatever tension was going on between the two groups." says Kathleen Wood, superintendent of Harpusville Central School District.

State Police say it started when 19 year old John Gottlieb had an argument with 4 other young men.

They are all recent graduates of Harpursville High School.

Investigators won't what the argument was about, only that it turned violent.

"A physical fight between the young boys, the young boy in the family and some of the youths there. Family got involved in the argument and eventually in the fight, for whatever reason Dawn Gottlieb pulled a knife." says Senior Investigator George Goodall.

State Police Dawn Gottlieb stabbed 3 of the teens.

While none of the injuries were life-threatening, one of the boys had to have surgery.

The school is now keeping an eye out for students affected by the fight.

"This is not how we resolve conflict. And I have to go back to the fact, it was the adult that had the knife. It wasn't the boys, the boys were, yes there was fighting that's not acceptable either but that could have been resolved. It was when the knife was introduced by the adult that the problem really went to a whole new level." says Wood.

Wood says the family is banned from school grounds except for school related activities.
The Gottlieb's have two other children who still go to Harpursville schools.

In Harpursville, Jessica Light, WBNG-TV Action News.

39 year old Dawn Gottlieb is charged with Assault

She's being held without bail.

41 year old John Gottlieb is charged with Tampering with Physical Evidence.

Their son, John, is charged with Menacing.

The victims of the stabbing are Erik Warren and Matthew Svoboda, both 19 and 18 year old Joe McLain.