A cinema in Birmingham descended into chaos after fracas involving some 100 people erupted amid reports that machete-wielding thugs were spotted in the crowd. A massive police operation followed.
Police were called around 5.35 pm local time to a Vue Cinema hall in Birmingham amid reports that a “group of people with machetes” was storming the Star City entertainment complex.
Videos of the incident have emerged on social media showing multiple police cars arriving at the scene.
#Birmingham Star City please avoid the area as heavy #police presence.
— Sheraz Ghafoor (@5heraz7) November 23, 2019
Heavy #traffic building up... pic.twitter.com/QZ26am2cQT
Officers can be seen intervening to keep rival groups apart during the showdown.
Just came to see the new blue story film, standing in line for snacks when a fight breaks out behind my brother - worst thing is, it’s young girls fighting. Police brought batons, tasers and dogs out. Star city now closed pic.twitter.com/3NC4efYRyp
— Rachael Allison (@_rachaelallison) November 23, 2019
About 50 police cars and over 100 officers were scrambled to deal with the suspected riot, witnesses say.
@StarCityCentre #starcity
— Amelia Rushe (@AmeliaRushe) November 23, 2019
Tiny bit scary pic.twitter.com/IlAF3ogm64
A number of police officers were assaulted as they moved in, and several people have been arrested. It is unclear if any machetes were recovered, though.
The disturbances broke out ahead of the Frozen screening at the cinema, as it was packed with children, dressed up as their favorites characters. A woman who said she was present at the cinema said in a Twitter post that the commotion originally began as a fight between “young girls.”
Kids are being killed in London daily so they decide to make a film and glorify it? Ridiculous! Families there to see Frozen and they have to witness these wannabe gangster clowns 🤦🏻♂️ disgrace #starcity
— Gennaro Savastano (@JohnDoe57109475) November 23, 2019
“Police brought batons, tasers and dogs out. Star city now closed," Rachael Allison tweeted, noting that she did not see any weapons.
Another witness described the melee as “one of the scariest moments” of her life.
“That's probably one of the scariest moments of my life. Me and my daughter were in a queue to watch frozen, loads of little kids there, all dressed up and everything, then these girls jumped on another girl and loads of these kids just started fighting,” she told Mirror Online.
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