Several arrested in U-Md. postgame celebration

By Erica Johnston



(Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/Post)



Update, 1:10 p.m.

Several videos of the scene during the melee have surfaced on YouTube. Check out one of them here (warning: strong language).

Update, 1:23 a.m.

Campus and county police arrested several people early Thursday morning as police tried to disperse crowds on campus and on Route 1, said Paul Dillon, a spokesman for the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety. Charges were not known.

He said that authorities had to extinguish two fires around 1 a.m. In one, a tree was ignited outside of Montgomery Hall. Some trash cans were set ablaze outside McKeldin Mall.

Dillon said that Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Police were on horseback and Prince George's County officers on foot were used to disperse crowds along Route 1.

D.C. Sports Bog posted a video highlighting students storming the court and photos of the street scene in College Park.



Earlier:

First, University of Maryland Terrapin fans watched their men’s basketball team dispatch rival Duke 79-72 at home Wednesday night. Then, they took to Route 1.

Washington Post photographer Sarah L. Voisin reported from the scene that hundreds of students screamed in celebration and took over Route 1, effectively shutting down the main artery through campus at the intersection of Knox Road.

Just after midnight, police on horses and on foot wearing helmets and using shields moved to disperse crowds gathered in the street around that intersection. No further details on the methods used to disperse the crowd were available. There were no reports of any injuries. It was not immediately clear if there were any arrests.

Police said they had no reports of any vandalism or significant property damage during the celebration.



In recent years, some basketball games -- usually against ACC rival Duke -- have been celebrated or mourned with raucous behavior, so police and firefighters were out in force near the campus tonight.

-- Clarence Williams

