A 600-person brawl broke out in a Jacksonville, Florida movie theater Christmas night. The riot broke out in the parking lot after a confrontation between police and some teenagers that were looking to sneak into the theater.
The 600-person brawl began around 8:30 pm on Christmas night, when a large group of teens (maybe 47 Ronin?) rushed the doors of the Hollywood River City 14 movie theater in Jacksonville. They were reportedly trying to get into the theater without paying for tickets. Part of the group attempted to take out a nearby off-duty police officer who was acting as a security guard.
At this point, it is unclear how many people were involved in the original altercation. It was a scary incident for both theater staff and the security guard. Fortunately, the security guard was able to maintain composure and react in the best way possible to avoid any deaths.
“[The officer] administered pepper spray to disperse the group, locked the doors and called for backup, following protocol,” said Lauri-Ellen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. By using pepper spray, the officer was able to break the large group into smaller sections and begin to deal with the smaller crowds.
ICYMI: Two women rob Dick’s Sporting Goods and pepper spray the store manager .
But what happened next could be call a “Grudge Match” royal rumble. As 62 officers reported to the scene, the 600-person brawl spilled into the parking lot of the movie theater where large groups were fighting, jumping on cars, and attacking bystanders. Police worked hard to separate out the fights and the families. Some of the brawlers were hostile to JSO officers, and attempted to involve the police in the fight. No reports of police getting involved have come through, however. Additionally, there have been no reports of gunshots fired or any serious injuries.
Five young men were arrested in the 600-person brawl. Three are being charged with felonies while two are being charged with juvenile misdemeanors. Tevyn Alonza Davis, 19, Jaquade Marquis Miller, 18, and Khalil Ahmad Bradley, 17, are all facing felony charges for resisting an officer.
The JSO did a fantastic job of keeping this incident under control so that the damage was limited. Certainly this 600-person brawl could have left the Jacksonville movie theater with a lot more desolation than was caused.
