(WNY News Now) – Williamsville – Violence marred Williamsville’s beloved Old Home Days event as police arrested three teenagers following multiple large-scale fights, including an incident where an officer was struck in the head.
Williamsville’s annual Old Home Days turned chaotic last week when several large fights erupted, leading to the arrest of three teenagers, Amherst police reported on Tuesday. The disturbances, which occurred both inside and outside the festival grounds at Island Park, prompted heightened police response.
The initial altercations were reported just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday, when a series of fights among teenagers broke out in the park. Although the scuffles dispersed before police intervention, organizers decided to close the park at 10 p.m., dispersing the crowd.
Later that evening, at approximately 11:15 p.m., a woman allegedly assaulted a man in the beer tent, repeatedly hitting him in the head. Despite the man’s initial reluctance to press charges, the incident remains under investigation.
The most significant disturbance occurred on Friday at 9:45 p.m. Several fights reignited among teenagers across different areas of Island Park, spilling over onto South Cayuga Road. Police intervened and arrested three individuals:
- A 19-year-old man from Cheektowaga and an 18-year-old man from Buffalo were both charged with disorderly conduct and released with appearance tickets.
- A 17-year-old from Buffalo, charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of governmental administration, allegedly punched an officer in the head during his arrest. He was released with an appearance ticket for Erie County Family Court.
Amherst police, in a late Tuesday morning news release, provided the ages, races, and genders of those involved, a move that raised questions about the necessity of disclosing such details. When asked, an Amherst police representative explained the information was shared to identify the parties without naming them. As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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