Large fights led to the Monterey County Fair being ended early on Saturday, August 30, Monterey police said. While rumors of a shooting at the venue initially surfaced, those were unfounded, ksbw.com reported.
Due to the large fights, the gates of the fair were closed at 9 pm. Police said several fights broke out at the time.
“The decision was made out of an abundance of caution, prioritizing the well-being of our guests, staff and community,” said fair organizers in a release to the press.
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The fair organizers confirmed that no one was injured in the fights. The fair is set to reopen on Sunday, August 31.
City of Monterey shared an update on X, saying, “MPD was working the fair tonight when security was alerted someone may have been shot in the carnival area. MPD in the carnival area did not hear any shots or observe indications of a shooting. Fair management and MPD worked together and made the decision to close the fair.”
Shooting reports unfounded
A Redditor claimed that a friend left the fair in a hurry after being told there was someone with a gun. However, they noted that local media confirmed there was no active shooter at the fair.
“Local media has confirmed no active shooter at the fair; it sounds like there was a brawl between teenagers and the fair was shut down for the night out of caution,” the Redditor wrote. “A friend just left the fair in a panic after hearing there was a shooter or someone with a gun at the Monterey County fair tonight.”
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The post added, “Law enforcement was apparently there quickly in a show of force and my friend is home safely. Wondering if anyone has details or more info?? Hope everyone is safe.”
“my friend was there, and it was not a shooting it was a full-on brawl. im not sure how hurt anyone got, but there were no weapons involved, just multiple people fighting at once. I have a video, but im not sure how to upload it,” one user commented. “We left like 25 mins ago – there was an active shooter situation per the staff on the way out, but everything was still running / music still playing etc. we were able to leave but people were not allowed in. Folks were calm inside sans a teenager running around saying someone was shot on the way out of the fair. Didn’t hear any gunshots or anything.” “We were in line for the bumper cars and watched what I feel like was probably start of this for nearly an hour while we waited. Teenagers were running back and forth, talking about fights, showing videos on their phones of fights taking place in the adult rides section – we witnessed one young male punch another right in front of the bumper cars not long after seeing everyone run from the carnival area. Never heard any gun shots but did see a lot of frantic teenagers. Hope everyone gets home safe tonight!” one one user.
“Yeah I was there when the group of kids were fighting I didn’t think anything of it until they all started running to ten other side,” one user wrote, while another said, “I left a little while ago but my friends are still there. They said they were in line for a ride when suddenly the security walks over and yells that the fair is shut down for the night. About 20 minutes before that when I left, I passed a fight outside the entrance, directly across the white motel (I don’t know what it’s called). My friend tried getting in too but they denied anyone trying to get in. Hope everyone’s ok.” One user said, “There was no gun shot. My daughter was right next to where the fight happened. She said someone was making a Tik Tok video, was bumped into, which then evolved into a pretty big brawl with multiple people. Police said they think people may have had guns, but there were no shots fired.”
