Argument between teenagers at Kings Dominion's Halloween Haunt led to 'mass chaos,' says MP

DOSWELL, Va. — A mass brawl that broke out during Kings Dominion's Halloween Haunt Saturday night resulted in “mass chaos,” authorities said.

Sergeant Steve Wills of the Hanover County Sheriff's Office said about 300 youths were fighting outside the park's arcade.

Wills said the youths outnumbered officers and that some young people retreated into restaurants and then overturned tables. He said the crowd was so large that police sought to de-escalate the situation.

“We had eight off-duty officers assigned to Kings Dominion,” Wills said. “We had to bring six more off the street to control the situation and move people out of the park.”

This attempt was so effective that no arrests were made.

“There was a lot of fighting and unrest throughout the park as we tried to push these people out,” Wills said. “It was 11 p.m., almost two hours, before we got everything fully secured, contained and under control again.”

The parent of a park employee told CBS 6 there were reports of “multiple stabbings and the brandishing of a weapon in the arcade area.”

However, Wills said no one was stabbed. Additionally, while there were “multiple reports of weapons being in possession,” Willis said officers did not see any weapons.

“A lot of the things that are going around the community right now are false. It's not true,” Wills said. “We didn't have any guns involved, and there were no knives or stabbings… We had some individuals who were disorderly conduct, and that's what this was about.”

Wills said this was the second night something like this had happened at the theme park.

Geoff Zindren, Kings Dominion's director of communications, said in a statement Sunday evening that outdoor rides and attractions were temporarily closed as storms moved through the region.

“A minor physical altercation occurred between some youths seeking refuge in the Candy Apple Grove area of ​​the park, but was quickly broken up by security and those involved were subsequently barred from entering the park,” wrote Geoff Zindren. “After the weather cleared, normal operations resumed. At no time were weapons used or found in the park.”

Wills asked the parents for cooperation.

“Don't just drop your kids off and leave them at Kings Dominion like it's a daycare,” Wills said. “Be there for them and get their behavior under control before it becomes a problem that we need to address.”

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The news of the fights at Kings Dominion's comes after Busch Gardens Williamsburg implemented a supervision requirement for Howl-O-Scream on Friday, requiring anyone under the age of 16 to be accompanied by a supervisor who is at least 21 years old to enter the park.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg's new chaperone policy, in effect through Sunday, November 3, comes after a teenager told police he was stabbed in the park Saturday night.

Police were called to a reported fight in the French section of the park. When officers arrived, the people involved in the altercation had already left, according to police. But shortly afterward, an 18-year-old man approached officers at the entrance to the park and said he had been stabbed.

The incident occurred after police responded to another altercation during Howl-O-Scream's opening weekend. That disturbance began with a verbal argument between two large groups of people, mostly children and young adults, who were waiting in line for rides near the park entrance, according to police.

Kings Dominion announced a similar policy last April: Anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult who is at least 21 years old to be allowed in the park after 4 p.m.

“The safety of our guests and employees has always been our top priority at Kings Dominion,” the park posted on its website and social media at the time. “Over the past two years, incidents of improper and inappropriate behavior have become increasingly common in our industry and at other major entertainment venues.”

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