Police Break Up Terrace Sports Crowd with Pepper Balls

A dance party for teens at got out of hand Sunday night when fights broke out in the parking lot and police used pepper balls to disburse the crowd.

received a call from Terrace Sports about a disturbance in the parking lot around 10:20 p.m., according to Michael Dunn, public information officer for the city of Temple Terrace.

According to an ABC Action News story, a rumor about a possible fight had been posted on Facebook. Terrace Sports was expecting about 300 teens, but 600 showed up to the party.

When officers arrived, they saw about 150 people in the parking lot with and lots of people fighting, Dunn said. About 450 people were inside the building, and the manager asked police to help shut the event down.

“Police began breaking up the fights and directing people to leave,” Dunn wrote in an email. “Because of the number of people involved, police called for backup from Tampa Police Department.”

When Tampa officers arrived, they shot pepper balls (pellets with a pepper spray type substance inside) onto the ground to make the crowd disburse, Dunn said. Some people went across the street to and , others went to the / parking lot.

“About that time, police heard gunshots in the vicinity of 50th Street and Busch Boulevard,” Dunn wrote. “That’s in Tampa, so TPD went to that area to check it out. TTPD was not involved in any incidents involving gunfire.”

Temple Terrace police made no arrests and no injuries were reported, according to Dunn.

Stay with Temple Terrace Patch for updates.