Unruly crowd forces early CNE closure on Tuesday night
Posted September 2, 2015 6:00 am.
Last Updated September 2, 2015 2:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Crowds getting out of hand forced the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) to shut down an hour early on Tuesday night, Toronto police say.
In a statement, the CNE said it was “winding down operations slightly earlier than usual … not due to any particular threat or incident, but simply to ensure the safety of our guests and to facilitate the exit of a large number of people.”
However, police said it was a disorderly problem that forced the shutdown.
One witness at the scene described it as a frightening scenario.
“We had feared the worse, possibly gunfire or a violent event within a similar capacity,” he said, after seeing a group of teens run past him. “But when the dust settled, all seemed to be in order. But minutes later we saw what appeared to be the same group of teens sitting around the center of the fairway, not causing any trouble, but barricaded by the police. There were probably around 15 cops.”
The witness said the closure was appropriate and that the police handled the manner professionally. “The police didn’t seem to be too worried,” he said.
No one was injured and the early closure will not affect operations at The Ex on Wednesday.
It was Youth Day on Tuesday, a day when people 19 and younger got in for free before 3 p.m.
The fairgrounds normally close at midnight, but everyone was forced to leave at 11 p.m.
