Riot erupts after surfing competition in California

Eight people were arrested.

Police were required to subdue rioting crowds with tear gas in Huntington Beach, Calif., shortly after the U.S. Open of Surfing ended Sunday. Crowds tipped over portable toliets, smashed store windows, and damaged vehicles. Eight people were arrested, according to the Los Angeles Times, and several police officers were injured. Several videos from the scene have emerged, depicting the chaos that eventually sparked violence.

Via the Los Angeles Times:

Kyle Calder told KTLA the melee started when someone was hit with a ketchup bottle from a second-story restaurant. The person threw the bottle into the crowd, triggering a fight that expanded into a small-scale riot.

“That’s when the cops came and everything went mayhem from there,” Calder said.

Police with riot helmets and nightsticks closed in on Main Street, video shows. Some in the crowd coughed and wiped their eyes from the gas police fired to disperse the crowd. Some covered their mouths and noses with shirts.