MASON, Ohio — Kings Island closed 30 minutes early Saturday evening due to "unruly behavior and altercations" involving teenagers, park officials confirmed Sunday morning.
The Mason Police Department said officers responded to reports of "unruly guests primarily juveniles" inside the park and in the parking lot. No arrests were made Saturday, police said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol also responded to the scene, and an OSHP spokesperson confirmed to WCPO there were multiple fights inside the park before a bigger altercation in the parking lot Saturday evening.
“The safety of our guests and associates is always our top priority," read a statement from Kings Island sent to WCPO Sunday morning. "On Saturday, the decision was made to close the park 30 minutes early due to unruly behavior and altercations involving a number of teenagers. This behavior did not align with our park’s values, and was not the experience we want any guest to have while visiting Kings Island."
Shan Powell posted a video of one of the fights inside the park that has more than 3,000 shares.
"It is an injustice that the staff is required to babysit some of these children," Powell told WCPO. "They're dropped off at the drop off right in front of the park and then left for hours at a time unsupervised."
Powell said it's going to take the community as a whole to fix the problem, not new park rules.
"I think the park should very much remain open, especially after the pandemic, for all ages," he said. "I'm not a big person for new rules, but I am a person of unity and unified responsibility. It's not going to fall on the staff alone to remedy this -- this is a community place."
