ROCK HILL, S.C. — Police say dozens of unsupervised kids and teens broke into fights at a Fourth of July celebration and even threw fireworks into the crowd.
Video sent to Channel 9 shows young people fighting at Monday’s Red White & BOOM! celebration in Rock Hill.
“Anything could have happened,” one woman told Channel 9′s Tina Terry. The woman asked us not to show her face, but told Terry what happened after that fight.
“They just threw fireworks into the crowds and everyone was trying to leave and find out what was going on,” she said.
Lt. Michael Chavis with the Rock Hill Police Department said close to 40 young people took part in the chaos. He said some were running through the crowd, trying to scare people by claiming they heard gunshots.
Chavis said some even threw fireworks into the crowd, dangerously close to families.
“We’re talking about an event that had young children, inflatables, ice cream, snow cones,” he described.
[ READ MORE: CMPD: Chaos in Uptown on July 4 was planned; 32 arrested and cited ]
Police took three of the young people into custody and charged one of them with resisting police. Chavis said detectives are still trying to find the ones who threw fireworks.
“We’re going to hold them accountable once we get them,” he said, adding, “Know that it’s other kids out there, other kids that can’t defend themselves.”
Across the border, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department dealt with a similar issue a day later. CMPD said 47 people, including 17 who are under the age of 18, were arrested after chaos broke out during a fireworks show in Uptown on July 4.
CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said the disruption appeared to have been planned.
“That’s not who Charlotte is and that’s not who we represent,” Jennings said.
(WATCH BELOW: Home catches fire due to fireworks in northwest Charlotte, officials say)
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