Man Shot, 7 Arrested When Chaos Erupts After Towson University Homecoming
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ)—Trouble in Towson. Massive street brawls broke out early Sunday morning. One man was shot and seven others arrested after a fraternity event spiraled out of control.
Mike Schuh has reaction from the community as police try to put together how this happened.
Witnesses say angry crowds started massive fights all over Towson Sunday morning. Several police officers were injured trying to put an end to the chaos.
Police in Towson struggled to control the crowd with pepper spray and K-9s. It was an event at the Recher Theatre that police say brought thousands of people to the area. Theater owner Brian Recher says it was a charity event held by a post-collegiate fraternity. He says the group was only expecting about 500 people.
"We have a capacity of 630 and once we reached that, we didn't let anyone else in," Recher said.
Those who couldn't get in grew angry and fights broke out in the streets.
George Georges, who owns the Kent House nearby, tried to protect his own customers by keeping the crowds out.
"I just said, `No, I'm going to close the doors here. I don't think it's a safe environment,'" Georges said.
In the middle of the chaos at Towson Circle, a man approached police officers, saying he'd just been shot.
The shooting happened inside a parking garage at Towson Town Center. Police are still searching for the shooter.
"A man in a dark-colored vehicle drove up beside him and fired several shots at him," said Baltimore County Police Cpl. Cathy Batton.
As the chaos ended, three police officers were injured. Seven people now face various charges, including disorderly conduct and assault.
Police now plan to meet with business leaders to make sure this doesn't happen again.
The owner of the Recher Theatre says they have done numerous events with the fraternity that ran Saturday night's event and they've never had any problems before.
The victim of the shooting suffered non-life threatening injuries.
