Florida Skating Rink Riot: "They Came to Fight

A riot broke out at a Florida skating rink following the cancellation of a child's birthday party, leading to the arrests of 29 individuals. The rink owner, Chris Manganias, blames the incident on a group of teenagers who advertised the event online as a teen dance party without his approval. He says security was present, but the crowd did not care.

On Saturday, May 18, 2024, a large brawl erupted at the Astro Skate roller skating rink in Brandon, Florida. The incident, which involved as many as 400 people, resulted in the arrests of 23 juveniles and six adults.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the riot began after the rink owner, Chris Manganias, canceled a child's birthday party due to concerns about a lack of security and a violation of the venue's contract. Manganias explained that the clients had advertised the event as a teen dance party without his approval and had failed to hire an off-duty officer for security, which is required for such events.

Despite the cancellation, a large crowd gathered outside the rink and refused to disperse. Efforts by law enforcement to break up the crowd were met with violence, leading to fist fights, broken windows, and other acts of vandalism.

Manganias believes the riot was the result of a change in the climate surrounding teenagers. He says that many rinks are now hesitant to host events on Friday or Saturday nights debido to the presence of large groups of teens who may be involved in drug use, profanity, and violence.

"When the crowd smells like marijuana, when there's nothing but profanity, all sorts of those words that we're not allowed to use – that's my call. And I said, ‘look, we're done. We're not going to let any more people in.’"

"They dispersed, but then they went up and down the block attacking people and destroying people's businesses. So this is the climate right now with that element."

Manganias says security was on-site when the violence broke out, as his rinks always employ off-duty officers. However, he believes that the crowd was emboldened by the presence of large numbers of people and did not respect the authority of law enforcement.

"If you look at these videos of these people fighting up and down the street, none of them have roller skates in their hands. None of them have skates on their feet. They came to fight. That's what they do."

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the incident and has not yet released the names of those arrested.