Fights break out at HSC after talent show

By ALAN EDRINN

Several people were arrested after fights broke out following the Apollo talent show at the Holmes Student Center on Wednesday night.

At 11:50 p.m., several fights broke out at the Huskie Bus turnaround just outside the HSC. When DeKalb, university and Dekalb County Sheriff’s officers arrived, they found a large fight with several hundred people in the area.

University Police Chief Donald Grady said he is “not prepared to provide [the Northern Star] with any information” in regard to the incident and refused further comment.

University Police arrested several people involved, and another fight broke out while police were there, said Lt. Gary Spangler of the DeKalb Police Department.

While one person involved in the fight was being arrested, several members of the crowd attempted to stop the officer. The person was eventually restrained and placed under arrest by University Police, Spangler said.

No arrests or charges were made by the DeKalb Police Department, and DeKalb officers only assisted in getting suspects into custody, he said. No DeKalb Police officers were injured in the struggle.

DeKalb County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Kevin Hickey said they received a call at 11:50 p.m. to assist NIU Police at the HSC and sent three squad cars and deputies to assist. No arrests were made by county officers and they were released by university officers at 12:20 a.m.

“The initial call for help was saying they had multiple fights breaking out at bus turnaround at the student center,” Hickey said.

The Black Male Initiative held an Apollo talent show from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium on Wednesday evening. An event coordinator for the show who wished not to give his name said there were about 700 people in attendance, and people from his organization were inside cleaning up after the show when the fight broke out.