A large disturbance broke out as Busch Gardens was closing Saturday night on the second day of the park’s annual Howl-O-Scream event.
Thanks to a “significant multi-jurisdictional response,” the incident was cleared by midnight with no injuries, police said.
Officers responded to the amusement park about 10 p.m. for a disturbance “within a crowd of several hundred park guests,” said James City County police spokesman Tayleb Brooks. It began as a verbal dispute between two large groups, primarily involving juveniles and young adults, near the park’s entrance at the France turn-around area.
The incident escalated, prompting the call for more police than the officers already working security. James City County police, along with officers from the Williamsburg Police Department and deputies from the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office, arrived to disperse the crowd, Brooks said.
At one point, some park guests indicated to police that someone had a gun, Brooks said. Another dispute broke out in the France parking lot “but quickly subsided as more law enforcement resources arrived,” he said.
Officers at one point detained a juvenile who was acting as though he might have a gun, but no weapon was found, Brooks said.
Brooks reiterated that “guests who fail to adhere to the park’s code of conduct disrupt the experience for others, create unnecessary safety risks and may face expulsion/banishment from the park and/or legal repercussions.”
“We are committed to ensuring Howl-O-Scream is a safe and fun event for all, and guests play a cooperative role in achieving this goal,” Brooks said.
Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com
