A fight broke out at the annual St. Catherine’s FunFest on July 5, forcing an early closure of the popular community event and the clearing of people from the church grounds in Columbus.
Details were not immediately available on what triggered the fighting at the festival on church grounds, which are located on the east side of South Gould Road bounded by Dale and Fair Avenues in Columbus, or whether there were any arrests. The church is just across South Gould from the eastern boundary of the city of Bexley.
Officers working the festival called for assistance at about 7 p.m., according to Columbus police 911 dispatch. Columbus and Bexley police responded to the scene and worked to clear crowds from the church grounds and surrounding areas.
Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler reported in a social media update at about 8:30 p.m. that the fight had “resulted in the event being shut down.”
“There were reports of gun shots, however police have no evidence of shots fired or a weapon involved upon further investigation,” Kessler said later in another post on social media.
In a post around 8:30 p.m., Kessler said then that “crowds are mostly dispersed,” but asked people to avoid Main Street in Bexley as well as the area south of South Gould Road and Fair Avenue for the time being.
At 10:24 p.m., Kessler reported on social media that Columbus police and Bexley police had “successfully disbursed a large number of teens loitering in the community following the closure of the St. Catharine’s FunFest.”
Kessler said a few businesses reported criminal mischief during the period.
“We appreciate the understanding of our community and businesses during an unfortunate and unforeseen incident,” Kessler said.
Additional Bexley police officers were on patrol late into June 5, he said.
Mayor Ginther ‘deeply concerned’ by festival violence
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther issued a statement saying he was “deeply concerned by reports of violence at tonight’s St. Catharine Fun Fest.
“Our neighborhood events should be welcoming places for residents and families to come together, and this behavior is unacceptable,” Ginther said. “Police officers and first responders were at the festival and quickly addressed the incident. I support their efforts as they continue to assess the situation. Their professionalism and commitment have my sincere appreciation.”
Ginther said in the media release that”the safety and well-being of everyone in our community will remain my top priority.”
The St. Catharine FunFest, which features rides, games, food, beer, live music from 7:30-10:30 p.m., and more, was open from 5-11 p.m. with rides closing at 10 p.m. on Thursday, June 4. The festival was to operate on the same schedule on Friday, June 5, before it was abruptly closed.
The FunFest is expected to be open Saturday, June 6, for its last day from 2-11 p.m. Rides end at 8 p.m., after which admission to the event is limited to adults 21 and older only unless a juvenile is with a parent or guardian.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Fight forces early closure June 5 of St. Catharine Fun Fest in Columbus
Reporting by Jim Wilhelm, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jim Wilhelm, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
