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<\/p>\nFest-a-Ville will start closing earlier after weekend of teens fighting, causing issues<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNEAR COLLEGE CAMPUS. POLICE TELL US WHAT THEY BELIEVE MAY HAVE STARTED THAT VIOLENCE. BUT FIRST, BREAKING NEWS. ANOTHER NIGHT OF CHAOS AT FESTIVAL. THIS IS VIDEO OF POLICE RIGHT NOW AT THE BIG FORLORN. EARLIER TONIGHT, OFFICERS JUST LEFT A FEW MOMENTS AGO. METRO STATE SAYS OFFICERS ARE IN THE AREA FOR CROWD CONTROL. OUR TEAM SAW HUNDREDS OF TEENAGERS IN THE AREA AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE. YOU CAN SEE CROWDS OF TEENS AND MORE THAN A DOZEN LMPD CRUISERS. LMPD AIR UNIT WAS ALSO IN THE AREA. OFFICERS WERE ORDERING THOSE TEENAGERS TO LEAVE, AND WE SAW THEM HEAD TOWARD DOWNTOWN. AND ALL OF THIS CHAOS IS HAPPENING. WHILE WE\u2019RE LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AT FESTIVAL LAST NIGHT. POLICE SAY LARGE GROUPS OF JUVENILES WERE FIGHTING INSIDE THE EVENT. THE DISORDER THEN SPILLED INTO THE DOWNTOWN STREETS. JOYCE OGIRRI IS HERE WITH MORE JOYCE ALEXIS NORMAN. THERE WAS A LARGE CROWD OF TEENS AMONG THE CROWD TODAY, AND FESTIVAL SHUT DOWN EARLY TONIGHT WHEN. GOSPEL FEST WRAPPED UP AT NINE. ORGANIZERS SAY THE FESTIVAL\u2019S ATTENDANCE POLICY REMAINS IN EFFECT, REQUIRING ANYONE 18 AND UNDER TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT. WE HAD SOME GROUPS OF JUVENILES WHO WERE JUST CREATING DISTURBANCES THROUGHOUT THE VENUE, MEANING THEY GET TOGETHER AND THEN THEY RUN OUT, RUN THROUGHOUT THE VENUE, JUST CREATING CHAOS, IMPACTING OTHER PEOPLE\u2019S EXPERIENCE. THIS COMES AFTER LARGE GROUPS OF TEENAGERS WERE REPORTEDLY FIGHTING INSIDE A FESTIVAL SATURDAY NIGHT. POLICE SAY THE SITUATION ESCALATED WHEN HUNDREDS OF TEENS LEFT THE EVENT. WHEN IT GOT SHUT DOWN EARLY AND MOVED INTO DOWNTOWN STREETS, WHERE THE DISORDER CONTINUED. WITH MORE FIGHTING AND DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR. DUE TO THE SIZE OF THE CROWD AND THE LEVEL OF CHAOS, ADDITIONAL OFFICERS WERE CALLED IN TO RESTORE ORDER. PIVOT TO PEACE. LOUISVILLE THE CITY\u2019S COMMUNITY VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAM, ALSO STEPPED IN TO HELP TO DEESCALATE THE SITUATION. THERE WAS SOME CONFLICTS, BUT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FESTIVAL, THE OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION, GOODWILL, LMPD WE WERE ABLE TO DEFUZE A LOT OF SITUATIONS, BUT ULTIMATELY THE EVENT WOUND UP CLOSING. KDF OFFICIALS SAY CHANGES ARE NOW BEING MADE. YOU\u2019RE AN ADULT WITH MORE THAN THREE TEENAGERS. YOU\u2019RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET IN. AND IF YOU\u2019RE TRYING TO WEAR A MASK AND IT\u2019S NOT FOR MEDICAL REASONS, YOU ALSO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET INTO THE VENUE. WHILE WE WERE INTERVIEWING FESTIVAL GOERS ABOUT THE INCIDENT, IT\u2019S NOT SURPRISING THAT IT IS LIKE IT IS UPSETTING BECAUSE I DID THINK ABOUT COMING TODAY. THE CHAOS HIT CLOSE. AT ONE POINT. KIDS TOOK OFF RUNNING AS PEPPER SPRAY FILLED THE AIR. IT REACHED OUR CREW. I GOT IT IN MY EYES AND COULDN\u2019T SEE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, AND MY PHOTOGRAPHER, LANCE PRICE WAS ALSO HIT IN THE FACE. SOME SAY INCIDENTS LIKE THIS IMPACTS THE CITY\u2019S IMAGE. IT\u2019S JUST A SHAME BECAUSE THE KENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL EVENT FOR ALL AGES, FOR YOUTH AND TEENS AND ADULTS. SO FOR THEM TO BE FIGHTING AND HAVING TO CLOSE DOWN EARLY, IT DIDN\u2019T NECESSARILY CHANGE THE WEATHER. WE WERE GOING TO COME. BUT, YOU KNOW, IT\u2019S ALWAYS UNFORTUNATE AND JUST HOPEFULLY THINGS GO GOOD AND EVERYBODY HAS A GOOD TIME. KDF OFFICIALS SAY THIS CAN AFFECT THE OVERALL SUCCESS OF THE FESTIVAL GOING FORWARD. IT IMPACTS THEM FINANCIALLY. IT IMPACTS THE FESTIVAL IN THE LONG RUN AS WELL, AND EVERYTHING THAT WE DO GOES BACK INTO PRODUCING OUR FESTIVAL FOR THE NEXT YEAR, AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO KEEP DOING THIS YEAR AFTER YEAR. AND WE SPOKE WITH KDF OFFICIALS BEFORE TONIGHT\u2019S INCIDENT, BUT THEY TOLD US THAT THEY\u2019RE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE SITUATION AND WILL DETERMINE IF THEY NEED TO CLOSE EARLY THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK. LIVE IN THE STUDIO. JOYCE. OGIRRI. WLKY NEWS. THANK YOU. JOYCE HOPE YOU\u2019\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Fest-a-Ville will start closing earlier after weekend of teens fighting, causing issues<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 5:23 PM EDT Apr 27, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n