Florida skate rink owner says canceled party sparked riot involving kids: 'They came to fight'
A riot broke out at a Florida skate rink after the venue called off what was supposed to be a child’s birthday party. Now, the rink owner is speaking out and is set to discuss the incident with law enforcement.
Chris Manganias, owner of Astro Skating Center in Hillsborough County, explained on "Fox & Friends First" that the event was booked as a child’s party from 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., but a manager saw the clients were advertising the event online as a teen dance party.
Manganias said the clients violated their contract by advertising the event without approval and failing to hire an off-deputy officer for security, which the rink requires for teen events.
He then decided to cancel the event entirely.
"So we exercised our option, called [the client] on Friday, gave her her money back," he explained.
"She screamed and cussed, carried on, called us all sorts of filthy names. And then on Saturday started posting on social media platforms to ‘go to the skating rink and give the police and the skating rink a hard time.’ And that's what they did."
Police say as many as 400 people showed up, and the situation escalated to a massive brawl.
"It's a different world, man. You've got 12, 13, 14-year-old kids cussing, screaming, threatening the police. And then the mamas come and say that, ‘Oh they're just children.’ And I've been dealing with children my whole life. What you see on that camera? Those are not children."
Footage provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shows dozens of people fist fighting, breaking through windows, and shocking violence.
Manganias said a crowd gathered outside the rink after being denied entry, but when efforts were made to disperse the large group, violence broke out.
Police ultimately arrested 23 juveniles and six adults.
"The climate has changed dramatically with the teenagers," he said, adding that many rinks don’t host events on Friday or Saturday nights at all.
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"When the crowd smells like marijuana, when there's nothing but profanity, all sorts of those words that we're not allowed to use – that's my call. And I said, ‘look, we're done. We're not going to let any more people in.’"
"They dispersed, but then they went up and down the block attacking people and destroying people's businesses. So this is the climate right now with that element."
Manganias said security was on-site when the violence broke out, as his rinks always employ off-duty officers, but the crowd didn’t seem to care.
"If you look at these videos of these people fighting up and down the street, none of them have roller skates in their hands. None of them have skates on their feet. They came to fight. That's what they do," he said.
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Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.