Boston officials said suburban teenagers were behind the boisterous behavior during a free concert at City Hall Plaza on Saturday.
With multiple fights breaking out, thousands of bottles being thrown and pot smoke allegedly permeating Government Center, Chris Loh, spokesman for Mayor Thomas Menino confirmed that the Urban Music Festival may not be held at City Hall anymore.
Loh said 10,000 more people than expected attended the show, most of whom were “teenagers from the suburbs.”
Boston Police spokesman Eddy Chrispin said “minimal amounts of drinking occurred” and most attendees were kids from the suburbs who may have showed up drunk.
After several videos of brawls between teens surfaced Sunday and
comments about the lack of police supervision spurred conversation with
city officials, Menino said he might back down on his annual stage of
choice.
Menino met with Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to discuss the disruption yesterday, after one rap artist described the incident as “45k people rioting.”
According to a Metro commenter, there was no police presence at the concert when she dropped her child off at the show, and kids were allegedly drinking openly and smoking marijuana near the stage.
Although police said no arrests were made, someone reported hearing gunshots at the show, which sent concert-goers fleeing into the Downtown Crossing area and prompted more police on scene.
Investigators found no evidence of gunshots, according to police reports.
Chrispin said there are 3,000 employed officers in the city, compared to the 50,000 concert attendees, and officers cannot make an arrest for “everything that can happen.”
“If there had not been police presence, the whole concert would have become a riot and been out of order,” he said. “The fact … is, there were no major riots or fights, with fights lasting only 40 seconds.”
Follow Steve Annear on Twitter @steveannear.
