Teen fights after Birmingham Village Fair sparks concerns
The Brief
Three teen girls were arrested after a brawl happened after the Birmingham Village Fair event Friday.
An 18-year-old victim was taken to the hospital afterward.
Two other fighting incidents were reported, with one earlier on Friday and one on Sunday.
BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (FOX 2) - A violent incident caught on camera broke out after the Birmingham Village Fair event Friday, and organizers are calling out the violence that they don't want associated with their event.
"This is kind of a national phenomenon, this growing youth violence," said Joe Bauman, the president and CEO of Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber.
The backstory
Video of the fight went rival involving what appeared to be several teens. Police say it took place at about 10:30 p.m. near E. Merrill and S. Old Woodward after the popular yearly festival had wrapped up for the evening.
Three teen girls from West Bloomfield, Southfield and Sterling Heights were arrested. And an 18-year-old victim from Detroit was taken to the hospital.
"We haven't been able to confirm whether the four individuals involved were even at the fair," Bauman said.
Birmingham police say a different fight at about 830 p.m. Friday, resulted in two teens being arrested, and is also being investigated.
Another fight involved a teen from Commerce Township and was arrested Sunday, after an altercation in the Ferris wheel line took place.
"It makes me scared that there are things going on," said one resident.
As organizers planned for this year's event, they worked with Birmingham police to take precautions.
"Prior to this year on Friday and Saturday nights we used to stay open until 11 p.m.," Bauman said. "We agreed that it would make more sense this year to close at 9 p.m. so we gave up two hours of the fair Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to stem any problems that might happen after dark."
This is not the first festival in Metro Detroit to deal with safety concerns.
Last summer a teen was killed and another one hurt in a shooting near a parking lot at the Michigan State Fair in Novi.
And after recent fights at Berkley Days, organizers will not hold one this year but are planning one for 2026.
Bauman said the Birmingham Village Fair will stay put.
"This is our 60th annual Village Fair this year which were very proud of," he said. "It is one of the longest continuous running fairs in the state of Michigan.
"We partner with 15 local nonprofit organizations every year and we share the proceeds of the fair with them."
As organizers plan for next year, they want Village Fair fans to know violence has no place at, or near the event.
The Source
Information from the police and the Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber was used in this report.
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