CNE Shuts Down Early on Youth Day, Three Teens Arrested

According to the video footage obtained from the event, fights broke out amid a heated groups of young people at the CNE’s midway and police had to be brought in to disperse the crowd. The brawls, which involved dozens of people, caused panic among the massive crowds that flocked to the Ex for its annual Youth Day.

But the CNE shut down early, for what they said was overcrowding and what people at The Ex said was fighting.

Victor Kwong joined the Jeff McArthur Show and said officers initially responded to a call for gunshots.

As a result, a 17-year-old was arrested for possession of crack cocaine. Last year, it closed about an hour early due to similar safety concerns surrounding overcrowding.

The officers said they left the fairway with the man in custody and headed toward the vendors area.

The entire incident occurred on one of the busiest nights at the CNE, which was holding its Youth Day, when the price of admission was reduced to $6 per person after 5 p.m.

On Wednesday morning, Virginia Ludy, the general manager of the CNE, told television station CP24 that fair officials would meet to decide whether to discontinue the Youth Day promotion.

CNE gates usually close at 10 p.m. but attractions and rides will often operate until midnight for those who arrived before the gates closed.

Ludy said there was already an enhanced police and security presence at the event before the trouble started.

The 16-year-old Toronto girl, who can not be named because of her age, is charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of obstructing a police officer.

“Their behaviour became a little bit undesirable and started running through the midway and just for public safety reasons, we made the decision in consultation with the Toronto Police Service that we were going to shut the fair down”, Ludy said.

“The behaviour that we saw was very disappointing”.

This is the 138th year for the CNE, Canada’s largest fair, which takes place every year at Toronto’s Exhibition Place.