A five-hour-long riot broke out on Fleming Drive, near Fanshawe College, as hundreds of St. Patrick’s Day revellers, fuelled by a sun-filled day of drinking, set objects on fire and then attacked police and fire department crews as they arrived on the scene.
“It started with several parties in this neighbourhood. At one point, about 10 p.m., we got reports of a couple different fires in the neighbourhood,” London Police Service Insp. Chris Newton explained.
A couch and small bush were the first objects to be ignited.
“Our first crew got here at 11:30 p.m. and tried to get in to put the fire out,” London Fire Department District Chief Jim Holmes said. “But they were pushed back by the crowd. There were lots of bottles flying, other object, rocks and everything.”
Under attack, fire officials asked for more police assistance to help get them out of the neighbourhood safely. As more fire crews and police in riot gear arrived on the scene, they were stymied in their attempts to gain control of the situation due to the large and aggressive crowd.
“With that large of a group of revellers in the street, it became very aggressive,” Newton said, adding the crowd ranged in numbers from 300 or 400, up to a 1,000 people at the peak of the riot.
“They started pelting police cruisers and personnel with bottles and rocks, etc. At that time we had to call in reinforcements to get those vehicles and officers out of the neighbourhood.”
A CTV news vehicle was overturned and set on fire with the large crowd gathering around it, some even dancing. (To view a video of the fire posted by a citizen on YouTube, click here.)
A line of police behind riot shields took up position across the corner of Fanshawe College Boulevard and Fleming Drive for the duration of the five hour standoff.
The 40 metres of Fleming Drive separating the two groups quickly became a no-mans land of broken glass and empty beer cans as rioters continued to hurl objects at police throughout the standoff.
“Because of the numbers and behaviour of the people involved, there wasn’t much more we could do other than stand back, contain the situation and monitor the fire to ensure it wasn’t putting any homes or persons at risk,” Newton said.
Although things were out of hand, it could have become even worse when a rioter picked up a propane tank and threw it into the fire.
“When we saw the person throw it in the fire we all backed up a little bit,” Holmes said.
Fortunately, the contents of the propane tank vented instead of exploding and no one was injured. It was a pivotal moment, however, as the crowd was warned to get back for their own safety. They eventually started dispersing allowing police to get control of the situation shortly after 4 a.m.
“We went in with the police and extinguished the fire as they pushed the crowd back,” Holmes said.
Victoria Mladenovski, a student who moved to London from Calgary, was “completely shocked” but what she saw, calling it “nonsense.”
With shattered beer bottles everywhere, there were people in the crowd walking around with blood trickling from wounds and some suffering minor burns.
“People are walking around with glass in their legs. It’s been going on for four hours,” Mladenovski said. “This guy just got glass to his eye, maybe an inch and a half thick, right his under his eye, he just ran home and he was going to go to the emergency room.
“Welcome to London, eh.”
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