Multiple people were hospitalized after a watch party for the Copa América final in Los Angeles turned violent Sunday night.
Video from the large event, which took place in a parking lot near a Colombian restaurant at South Union Avenue and James M. Wood Boulevard in L.A.’s Pico-Union neighborhood, shows hundreds of fans, including families with children, at what appeared to be a joyous gathering for the tournament’s final match between Colombia and Argentina.
However, rowdy behavior and violence broke out when the match was over, according to witnesses.
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“We got here, and the game had just finished up…there were a lot of festivities, joy and people having a good time,” one witness, who was not identified, said. “That great time turned into a lot of drinking and that drinking turned into violence…next thing you know, they are closing the gates.”
Preliminary information indicated that bottles were thrown and at least one person was stabbed. The Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed that one person was hospitalized with a stab wound and another with complaints of pain from an assault.