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A photo taken at a Pompey house party where there were more than 500 people. Onondaga County Sheriff's deputies called in the county's helicopter to help break the party up. Emily Jureller, who attended the party and took the picture, blacked out the faces of people who could be identified.

(Provided by Emily Jureller)

The massive house party that police needed a helicopter to help break up Wednesday night was the kind of thing that only happens in movies, said Emily Jureller, a graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius who was among the more than 500 people at the party.

"It was not about drinking," Jureller said. "But it was about being a part of something big and being able to say you were there in the moment."

The party, at 7598 Ashlind Circle in Pompey, was shut down by police around 11 p.m. Revelers threw a glass bottle at a patrol car and police called for backup. About 20 officers from several departments helped break the party up.

Deputies called in the county's helicopter, Air1, to provide light as they sent people on their way. Jureller said it was surreal to see it overhead.

"Most of us thought it was a waste of money on the police's part because it did nothing but make us all more excited that we had really achieved something big," Jureller said.

Jureller said that while most teens tend to not tell their parents about the house parties they go to, this one was the kind of thing you can't keep secret.

"This was this was definitely something everyone told their parents first thing the next morning," she said.

Gregory York, 23, told police his parents knew he was throwing the party. Deputies later contacted his mother, who was out the town. She said that was not the case. A message left at the home has not been returned.

Herb Wiggins, a spokesman from the Onondaga County Sheriff's office, said no one has been charged.

Jureller said the party-goers were mostly high school graduates and older. Some were from F-M, but many were from districts up to an hour away. She heard about the party through word-of-mouth and texts.

The party-planning left a trail on Twitter, too. The address was announced in tweets. Later, more than 200 people favorited a picture of people crowded around the pool.

The tweets reference "Project X," a movie about massive house parties.

Contact Marnie Eisenstadt anytime: email | twitter | 315-470-2246.

