Song Triggers 200-Person Fight at Virginia Skating Rink, Witnesses Say

Approximately 200 people were involved in a brawl at a roller skating rink in Virginia over the weekend, according to reports. (Google Street View)

Approximately 200 people were involved in a brawl at a roller skating rink in Virginia over the weekend, according to reports.

A song apparently sparked the huge melee, which involved teenagers and adults, reported Virginia First. The incident unfolded at the Star City Skate Center just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 23 in Roanoke County.

There were reports of shots fired at the skating rink, but police said they were not able to confirm those reports, according to the Times. They found no suspects or victims.

Two witnesses told Virginia First that a song came on, sparking local gang tension in the crowd. Some threw up gang signs after the song started playing. It’s not clear what the song was.

“I mean it was crazy because we had just gotten there. Like we didn’t even spend like 30 minutes in there,” Nicholas Gilliam Jr. said. He said the gang signs where what led to the fracas.

Gilliam told local news outlets that he saw at least one person holding a gun.

“They had it out. They was running with it (sic),” Gilliam explained.

Approximately 200 people were involved in a brawl at a roller skating rink in Virginia over the weekend, according to reports. (Google Street View)

Marques Davis, 13, said he had one thing on his mind when the fight broke out: Don’t die.“Honestly, I didn’t want to die. I did not want to die,” he said.

After the skating rink brawl, some people went outside and started fighting there, said the two witnesses.

The station reported that no arrests have been made, but the incident is under investigation.

It’s not clear if there were any injuries in the brawl.  Other details about the incident are not clear.

Violent Crime Down?

The FBI said that both violent crime and property crime decreased in 2017 compared to 2016. Overall violent crime decreased 0.2 percent from 2016 to last year, while property crime decreased 3 percent during that time, the agency said in September, releasing data from the previous year.

“There were more than 1.2 million violent crimes reported to UCR nationwide in 2017. There was a 0.7 percent decrease in murders and a 4 percent decrease in robberies from 2016 to 2017. Aggravated assaults increased 1 percent in 2017. The FBI began collecting data solely on an updated rape definition last year, and 135,755 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2017,” the FBI said in its report.

“The report also showed there were more than 7.7 million property crimes last year. Burglaries decreased 7.6 percent and larceny-thefts decreased 2.2 percent. Motor vehicle thefts increased 0.8 percent from 2016 to 2017.”

These figures were compiled from more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies around the United States that submitted their crime data to the FBI.

In Florida, the FBI said that Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Hialeah, Tallahassee, and St. Petersburg are the most violent cities, according to WTXL. Jacksonville recorded 106 murders in 2016, the last available data, Orlando had 84 murders, and Miami saw 55 murders. Meanwhile, Tallahassee is considered the tenth-worst city in the United States when it comes to property crime rates, the FBI said, reported FloridaPolitics in June 2018. There were 52 property crimes per 1,000 residents in the state’s capital city.