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Visitors React After Fights Break Out at Contra Costa County Fair

The Contra Costa County fair is making changes on the last night of the fair, announcing a new chaperone policy. It comes after videos were posted on social media of fights breaking out at the fairgrounds Saturday night.

One of the videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be one person being attacked. NBC Bay Area has blurred the video because many of the people seen are minors.

NBC Bay Area’s Christie Smith spoke with a security guard who was there when the fighting started. He asked not to use his name.

“The kids started piling in and one thing led to another. There was one large brawl,” he said. “ And that kind of turned into two or three large brawls and I think there must have been a dozen fights at least large fights were talking, multiple people, multiple kids, all middle school kids and it got way out of hand and we want to shut it down way earlier because there was no controlling it. It was just a madhouse in there.”

Jacob Ferguson was at the fair Saturday with a group of families, he didn’t see the fighting but added there were crowds with cell phones out and he could hear the commotion. His kids were in the animal area.

“A group, a hoard of kids started coming towards that way and they locked the gate to the animals,” he said. My wife and kids were stuck in there and you could see the kids running. This one poor kids said he was scared.”

Ferguson and his family’s visit didn’t last long as security told them to head home.

“I believe they just told us to leave and after that, the cops came and they closed it down,”

NBC Bay Area reached out to the county fair, but they did not comment.

But on Facebook, fair organizers posted their goal is making sure the fair remains a safe fun environment.

On the event’s last day, they are implementing a chaperone policy. After 5 p.m., all youth must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Some visitors were surprised to hear about fighting and undaunted today.

NBC Bay Area also reached out to law enforcement to ask about injuries or arrests, but have not heard back.

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Source: NBC Bay Area

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