Kentucky fans riot after defeat of Louisville in Final Four
Postgame revelry in Lexington turned to destruction and fire-setting Saturday night as University of Kentucky fans swarmed the streets surrounding campus, prompting police in riot gear to move in.
College antics in alcohol-fueled celebrations of UK's Final Four victory quickly escalated, as young people set couches and two cars ablaze and hurled beer cans into clusters of party-goers.
Firefighters responded to about 50 nuisance fires, mostly couches set afire on purpose, according to Battalion Chief Ed Davis of the Lexington Fire Department. Ten people were injured, he said.
Two car fires were set on State Street.
A spokeswoman for the city said several people had been arrested, though the number remained unclear. There had not been any mass arrests, she said.
Alcohol was everywhere and bottles smashed throughout the area.
Police in riot gear patrolled party areas and sprayed fire extinguishers on fans who attempted to damage vehicles.
Police attempted to clear the street, moving in twice by 10:20 p.m., but it wasn't until about 11 p.m. that the crowd began to disperse significantly.
Before then, revelers climbed atop cars, flipped three vehicles on State Street to the cheers of others and attempted to flip others while fans chanted "Cats, Cats, Cats."
The cops "sprayed fire extinguishers"??? WTF? Why were the cops being so
HARD on these kids? I think there needs to be a full investigation on these Gestapo tactics!
OK, so there were some felonies being committed. But hell, assault, arson and public intoxication are all just part of the college experience!
It's not like anyone was doing anything bad on Saturday night like "acting suspicious" were they? Nobody was "trespassing" in someone else's sovereign neighborhood eh?
Actually, let me retract that, there is one kid in the lower right hand of the first photo
who DEFINITELY looks like a trouble maker. I can't quite put my finger on it, but...he...he...just seems like an undesirable element. Five'll get you ten he's the ringleader of this whole thing. Probably got a bag of weed (or at least some Skittles) on his person as well. Now if the cops had pepper-sprayed him, (or just provided a friendly "warning shot") then THAT was be understandable.
But otherwise, the Lexington police should prepare themselves for a shit-ton of lawsuits!