This post has been corrected, as noted below.

Huntington Beach is cleaning up Monday morning after a fight broke out following the U.S. Open of Surfing, leading to a two-hour confrontation between police and unruly beachgoers.

Eight people were arrested and several officers were injured Sunday night. Police in riot gear used tear gas and nonlethal rounds to disperse the crowd, which tipped over portable toilets and smashed storefront windows.

Huntington Beach Police Lt. John Domingo said city signs and vehicles were also damaged.


PHOTOS: Huntington Beach disturbance

Video of the rioting shows people in the crowd rocking city vehicles while others jump-kicking or shoving portable toilets onto their sides.

Kyle Calder told KTLA the melee started when someone was hit with a ketchup bottle from a second-story restaurant. The person threw the bottle into the crowd, triggering a fight that expanded into a small-scale riot.

“That’s when the cops came and everything went mayhem from there,” Calder said.


Police with riot helmets and nightsticks closed in on Main Street, video shows. Some in the crowd coughed and wiped their eyes from the gas police fired to disperse the crowd. Some covered their mouths and noses with shirts.

Photo and videos from the scene show people tearing down city signs, one person dragging a stop sign into the middle of the street and throwing it down in front of police and another man throwing over a barricade.

The U.S. Open of Surfing draws thousands of people to Huntington Beach. Hundreds of people were still in the area when the unrest began, with many of them posting photos and videos to social media.

Another pic from downtown HB tonight. pic.twitter.com/EWkDRGfEfj— Scott (@LinckHB) July 29, 2013


Riots downtown! Time to beat it people. You have over stayed your welcome!— brett simpson (@BrettSimpo) July 29, 2013Trashing our beach with a riot? That’s what happens when you turn the SURFING event into a big party. GO HOME! #SurfCity #HB— Emily Richards (@HbWINGer27) July 29, 2013

I feel really bad for the locals of Huntington Beach though, it’s a shame a bunch of tourists have to screw up their town with the riots. :/— Patrick Léon (@TheFunkadellic) July 29, 2013

Rest of US: “We want gun control! Equal rights! Justice in our legal system! Economic stability!” HB: “MOAR SURFING.” #HBriots— Kaitlyn Lee (@ironyabides) July 29, 2013


[For the record, 11:50 a.m. on July 29: An earlier version of this post included an Instagram from @dj_alex_goodrow, who tagged his photo #riot #huntingtonbeach. However, the photo is from a 2011 riot in Vancouver.]

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Twitter: @josephserna

joseph.serna@latimes.com