Police end a "riot" near the University of West Virginia which, according to the school, began as "a playful time in the snow"



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Police on Friday described the incident as "a riot" in an incident near the University of West Virginia after the crowd began throwing glass bottles and stones at the police after have been asked to disperse so that snow plows and salt trucks can pass through. "It is unfortunate that what started today on Spruce Street as a playful part of the snow has turned into a dangerous and threatening situation for students and law enforcement officials," said a spokesman. responsible for the university in a statement.

A large crowd gathered in Morgantown, near the campus of the school, after the cancellation of classes due to freezing temperatures and snow. Morgantown Police Chief Ed Preston told the student newspaper The Daily Athenaeum that the crowd was between 750 and 900 people.

Police said the crowd was openly consuming alcohol, tobogganing, snowboarding and blocking the roadway, reports CBS Pittsburgh. School officials told the crowd to move so that snowplows and salt trucks could go down the street, and Morgantown officers attempted to escort a plow down the street. to get pedestrians out of the street.

"We had winter sports activities that turned into criminal behavior and violence," Preston told the Athenaeum. "They started attacking the city workers as they ran down the streets."

The crowd started using glass vials

The police went behind the plow to avoid being hit.

Three police officers deployed pepper ammunition to target the building above the people throwing bullets. so that the bullets disintegrate on the building and that the powder falls on the crowd. They claimed that the police were trying to conceal the withdrawal of other workers and officers from the region

According to the police, the incident was declared riot around 15:50. and the officers ordered the crowd to disperse.

When the crowd failed to do so, the officers gave a second scatter, but the crowd again refused. Directional loudspeaker emitting a "constant annoying noise"

At that time, members of the crowd burned debris in the middle of the street.

Officers deployed long-range acoustic device in a

Police say more than half of the crowd dispersed in about five minutes, but those still refusing to leave clashed and continued fanning the street and throwing objects at the officers.

Two smoke cartridges were later fired on the street. The remaining crowd scattered at that time.

No arrests were made, but university officials said the video was being viewed to determine if charges should be laid. No injuries were reported.

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