Violent Mob Attacks Mar Wisconsin State Fair
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS) -- Violent mob attacks inside the festival grounds have marred the Wisconsin State Fair in suburban Milwaukee.
WDJT-TV, CBS 58 Milwaukee reports 24 arrests were made Thursday night, after hundreds of people started fighting in and around the fairgrounds. The arrests were made within the grounds in West Allis, Wis.
Seven Wisconsin State Fair police officers were injured in the attacks, WDJT reported. One officer was hit with a weapon, while another suffered a concussion. Both were hospitalized.
WDJT reports police say the attacks were not racially motivated.
State Fair Police tell CBS 58 the no fair attendees were hurt in the attacks, but some might have been hurt in the surrounding areas. Also, a vendor reported items stolen from his stand.
On Friday night, draconian new rules are in place at the fair to prevent any further problems. Anyone under the age of 18 must now be accompanied by an adult over 21 after 5 p.m.
State Fair police are also increasing their presence, WDJT reported.
Mob attacks made headlines in Chicago for several weeks earlier this summer – particularly in tourist-friendly areas close to downtown. Most notoriously, on June 4, two men were attacked by mobs of teens in Streeterville – one of whom was parking his scooter in the 300 block of East Chicago Avenue, the other of whom was assaulted while riding his bicycle at Lake Shore Drive and Huron Street.
And less than a week later, two teens were attacked by a mob of teens at Chicago and Wabash avenues in an altercation that began at the Oak Street Beach.
