Security uses tear gas to break up fight with fans at John Wall Invitational in Raleigh
A large fight among fans at the John Wall Holiday Invitational Wednesday night prompted security to use tear gas to break it up, officials said.
The basketball tournament, held at Wake Tech in Raleigh, forced a scheduled game to be postponed and additional security measures for Thursday’s game.
The fight happened the same night as a shooting in Salisbury that involved two teens at a different high school basketball tournament. The teens were shot after a fight broke out in the lobby at Catawba College.
In Raleigh, at the John Wall tournament, Twitter user @asapzeke caught the melee on video that occurred during the tournament’s final game of the night.
It forced a scheduled game between Farmville Central and Life Christian Academy, from Kissimmee, Fla., to be postponed.
After the incident, tournament organizers released a statement saying security had already been stretched thin due to a fight among players that broke out following a game between Southern California Academy and Moravian Prep. Those teams played before the scheduled Farmville Central-Life Christian game.
Tournament officials said after the security officer used tear gas to break up the fight, it wasn’t safe for the players to continue.
“What happened tonight doesn’t represent John Wall, the Triangle Education Advancement Foundation or the Holiday Invitational,” said co-tournament director Webb Wellman. “We love our players, we love our fans and we will work hard to make sure this doesn’t happen again. This event is about the love of the game and violence will never be acceptable.”
For games on Thursday, the final day of the event, capacity will be limited to 50 percent, or about 1,000 people.
Security also will be “significantly increased.”
The game with Farmville Central and Life Christian was rescheduled for Thursday morning.
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 12:47 AM.
