Large melee at Stockton movie theater leaves 12-year-old girl hurt: police

A 12-year-old was injured after a downtown Stockton movie theater became one of at least three commercial areas across California disrupted by brawling crowds of young people on Sunday.

Stockton’s melee broke out sometime before 7:40 p.m. Sunday, Stockton police officer David Scott said.

That’s when police say a caller reported to 911 dispatchers that about 100 young people had started duking it out inside the Regal theater on El Dorado Street. The fight spilled over into the outdoor plaza.

A caller also reported that two people had been pepper sprayed, Scott said. He couldn't confirm.

Twelve officers and two police supervisors rushed to the theater and “with the help of the movie theater security staff were able to separate and de-escalate a few altercations,” he said.

A 12-year-old girl was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, Scott said.

Businesses near the plaza didn’t have any visible external damage Monday morning.

It’s unclear why the fights started, and Scott said police weren’t aware of any social media discussion of a gathering or fight in the run-up to the incident.

What is clear is that similar scenes unfolded in at least two other cities Sunday afternoon.

Around 4:30 p.m. at Bay Street Mall in Emeryville, fights erupted amid a crowd of at least 200 young people, leaving one person stabbed, multiple outlets reported.

Gunfire was reported, though no one was reported shot.

Witnesses also reported gunfire during fights among dozens of young people around 4 p.m. yesterday at a shopping center in Torrance, just south of LAX, multiple outlets reported.

The fights in Stockton don’t appear to have been connected to a concert that took place across the street from the theater at Weber Point earlier on Sunday, Scott said.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Large fight at Stockton theater leaves 12-year-old injured: police