Star City fight: Arrests as police break up brawl at cinema
Officers were called to the Star City complex following reports a group with machetes was at the venue. …
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A number of police officers have been assaulted while trying to break up fighting at a Birmingham cinema.
West Midlands Police was called to the Star City complex shortly before 17:35 GMT following reports a group with machetes had arrived at the venue.
A spokesperson for the force said they found about 100 people at the complex’s cinema and fighting broke out as they moved to clear the area.
Several arrests have been made and officers remain at the scene.
One eyewitness said “a young boy was crying on the floor with his mother” as a number of people started fighting.
Rachael Allison said: “The police told everyone to leave the cinema as they held Taser guns in their hands and started to bring in guard dogs.”
Another eyewitness described it as “one of the scariest moments of [her] life”, as she queued to watch the new Frozen film with her daughter.
Choleigh McGuire said: “Armed police come, Tasers come, all of the people that were fighting ran off into the cinema, hiding. I am shaking.”
Motorists have been advised to avoid the area – in the north-east of the city, close to junction six of the M6 and Aston Railway Station – due to a build-up of traffic.
A dispersal order has been put in place giving police the power to move on groups of people and arrest those who fail to leave.
Star City is a family leisure and entertainment complex in the Nechells area of Birmingham.
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