Timeline: What happened at ‘Youth Day’ at the CNE
Posted August 31, 2016 12:27 pm.
Last Updated August 31, 2016 4:28 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Tuesday was Youth Day at the Canadian National Exhibition, with a special, cheaper entry ticket for those 17 years old and younger.
But the CNE shut down early, for what they said was overcrowding and what people at The Ex said was fighting. A timeline of the events, including the response from Toronto police can be seen in the timeline and the Twitter slideshow below.
8:51 p.m.: One of the first tweets came from @TPSCalls, a Twitter account not affiliated with Toronto Police. Just before 9 p.m. they put out a message about the incident.
9:21 p.m.: Twitter user @Ayngelina writes that she heard gunshots and “everyone started running.”
9:23 p.m.: The CNE tweets that it is “closing early tonight.”
9:27 p.m.: Kevin Edward Proulx, who was at The Ex, tweets a video and a message saying the midway was shut down. There was also a report of a possible shooting, he said.
9:30 p.m.: CityNews reporter Ginella Massa, who was at The Ex, wrote in an email that rides are shut down, lights are off and staff are telling people to close for safety reasons. “There are police here and it sounds like there may have been a gun call,” she said.
9:32 p.m.: Toronto police, through the official Twitter account @TPSoperations, tweets that officers are dealing with crowd issues.
9:35 p.m.: Twitter user @legere02 writes that the gunshots at the CNE were “the scariest thing of my life.”
9:46 p.m.: The CNE releases a more detailed statement, saying they are closing early due to overcrowding. There is no mention of gunshots.
9:51 p.m.: Earlier reports of gunshots are false, Toronto police say through the @TPSoperations account. It is the first mention of gunshots or violence at the CNE from the official police account.
9:52 p.m.: Twitter user @sinksships writes that she saw a bad fight. Videos showing fights start to appear on social media. Toronto police officers can be seen in some of them.
10:35 p.m.: A video of another fight appears on Twitter, from @alibinesh.
Overnight: More videos appear. People who attended are asking for their money back.
Wednesday morning: Toronto police tell CityNews three people were arrested, but none of them are charged with fighting.
A 16-year-old girl is charged with obstructing a police officer and two counts of assaulting a police officer, a 16-year-old boy is charged with assaulting a peace officer and failing to comply with recognizance, and a 17-year-old boy is charged with possession.
