PBSO: 5 arrested after brawls involving 200-plus juveniles break out at South Florida Fair

A series of fights involving about 200 juveniles Saturday night at the South Florida Fair resulted in five arrests and two reported stabbings, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

Investigators say the fights occurred from about 9 p.m. until the fair closed at midnight. Two males showed up at Wellington Regional Medical Center and said they had been stabbed at the fair, PBSO said. Both refused to prosecute.

Deputies say the fights broke in all directions of the fair midways. During that time, they said, they fired pepper-ball rounds into a crowd PBSO described as large and chaotic. Additional deputies from across the county were summoned to provide extra manpower.

In recent years, fair organizers have put specific rules in place for minors in an effort to curb unruly behavior. For the final weekend of the 2022 event, attendees under 18 entering the fairgrounds after 8 p.m. were required to be accompanied by an adult.

For this year's event, anyone under 18 attending the fair on either a Friday or Saturday night is required to be accompanied by an adult guardian 21 or older, with no more than four minors allowed per guardian.

Attendees ages 11-17 will also be required to purchase a wristband for rides in addition to paying the cost of admission.

The fair runs through Sunday, Jan. 28.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: PBSO: 5 arrested after fight at South Florida Fair 2024 in West Palm