'Unruly' guests forces Osceola County Fair to shut down, officials say
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - The Osceola County Fair was forced to shut down on Friday night after some guests became "unruly," fair officials said.
According to the events Facebook page, the fair had reached capacity on Friday night, so they made the decision to close the gates for the safety of guests and staff.
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"After announcing this, we had some guests who became unruly and we were forced to close the fair entirely. After consulting with the Osceola County Sheriff's office and some of our board members, this course of action was required."
"I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before," said Joseph McAvey, who recorded the scene on his phone as events unfolded.
His video showed crowds of youngsters running from the area before a group of them clash with Osceola County deputies.
"When they came back around, it was just mayhem because the cops weren't expecting it. So that girl came out of nowhere, put her hair up, and just got tackled by the police," McAvey said.
RELATED: Video shows 'unruly' guests at Osceola County Fair
Fair officials apologized to those that waited in line, "however, nothing is more important than the safety of our guests and staff."
Administrators say some other fairs only admit people under 18 with a parent or guardian. They say they won't rule out that being a possibility there in the future.
The Sheriff's Office says they identified one juvenile as the aggressor on Friday and detained her, later releasing her to her father. They say the State Attorney's Office is reviewing the report.
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