BRANDON, Fla. โ Hillsborough County deputies have released video of a massive brawl outside Astro Skate in Brandon that resulted in 29 arrests, including 23 teens.
It happened just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday in the skating rink's parking lot.
Andrea Leary, the manager at Astro Skate, told 10 Tampa Bay there was a private event scheduled at the rink for an 18th birthday party. It was reportedly canceled when staff learned it was going to be a large event that they couldn't accommodate.
โWe later found out that it was not a little party it was a big event. They had posts on social media and flyers everywhere, things that were against our standard for safety concerns,โ Leary said.
According to the sheriff's office, the group had failed to hire an off-duty deputy for the event, which is required at Astro Skate.
Deputies said the group was refunded their money but decided to post on social media "asking people to come and riot at the business and confront law enforcement."
Deputies reportedly arrived to find 400-500 people in the parking lot of Astro Skate and nearby businesses. They said they issued multiple warnings informing the crowd they were trespassing and needed to leave.
"Despite this, the crowd continued fighting, damaging businesses, stealing, and disrupting business operations," the sheriff's office wrote.
The video shows one teen getting punched, kicked and thrown through the glass window of the Time Out Barber Shop.
"It was outside. They came up and started attacking me," the teen can be heard telling deputies as he held out his bloody hand.
The teen was transported to Tampa General Hospital to treat his "severe cut."
In several other clips, teens can be seen pulling people's hair, punching each other and pushing people to the ground.
Deputies said during the brawl, a group went into a convenience store, caused more than $500 worth of damage to wine bottles and stole an undetermined amount of merchandise.
In total, 23 teens and six adults were arrested. The adults were booked into the Orient Road Jail while the teens were taken to a juvenile assessment center.
"I am outraged by the violent and disruptive behavior that targeted hard-working people and businesses and created harm, fear and chaos in our community. Let me make this unequivocally clear: this violent and destructive behavior will never, under any circumstances, be tolerated in Hillsborough County," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement.