Police were at the scene of a brawl involving 60 to 100 people Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, where at least two people were stabbed and another two were arrested.
The Anaheim Police Department responded to the Cambria Hotel at the intersection of East Katella Avenue and Anaheim Boulevard around 12:40 p.m. for reports of a brawl, police Sgt. Shane Carringer told KTLA.
Four officers arrived to find about 40 people fighting in the hotel parking lot, Carringer said. As they were attempting to break up the brawl, they realized that there were more people fighting in the lobby.
Additional officers were deployed along with deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. They were able to break up the brawl and separate people away from the hotel and begin an investigation into what happened.
Two people, including one minor, were stabbed and transported to a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening, Carringer said.
At least two other people were arrested at the scene for allegedly fighting in public.
Witnesses told KTLA the fight started over an incident at the hotel pool, when someone pushed a child into the water.
Raymond Brown, an 11-year-old who was at the pool at the time, told KTLA he playfully pushed his little cousin into the pool. His cousin then accidentally fell on a group of girls.
“They wanted to try to fight us but we didn’t really do nothing. It was just an accident,” Brown said. “And then that’s when they tried to fight us and they all went to the basketball court, and then we got in the hotel and they just started throwing bottles and stuff at us.”
Sky5 was overhead around 2 p.m. as dozens of police could be seen at and around the hotel, and as ambulances lined the street.
Police said they were checking every hotel room to make sure no one was hurt or hiding out.
Carringer said the hotel, which has a water park feature, has been the site of several calls in past weeks, including two near drownings within a week of each other.
“The hotel is unfortunately not practicing the social distancing guidelines that have been prescribed by the county so we are going to start working with all of our city and county resources to make sure we can get compliance from the hotel,” he said.