06/06/2026
I wanted to share thorough detail and some thoughts in the aftermath of the events that occurred at the Saint Catharine’s FunFest last night.
Around 7:00 pm yesterday evening, several group fights broke out among teenagers attending or in the area of the St. Catharine’s FunFest just across the Bexley border in Columbus. What followed was an immediate closure of the event, and what has been described as a panicked stampede of attendees attempting to quickly exit the event. Rumors circled suggesting shots fired and injuries reported. Attendees who had arrived on foot or by bike were able to disperse, but attendees who had been given a ride were delayed in pickup due to the immediacy of the closure as well as lack of access to blocked roads and traffic congestion.
The sudden closure of the event then led to an adjacent crowd control issue, as attendees who had been dropped off at the event and weren’t within walking distance of their homes were left to wait. This crowd had been driven to the west after the closure, primarily to the streets just south Fair and west of Gould. I arrived on the scene at about this point, and the handful of Bexley Police officers on shift were being assisted by a growing response from Columbus Police Department. The crowd was primarily made up of middle and high school age teenagers, many of them just hanging around talking to their friends, others rough housing a little bit but mostly just being boisterous teenagers. I want to note that I saw several examples of residents in adjacent homes helping to pass out water and snacks and showing true kindness during this time. We estimate that there were around 500 to 800 teenagers assembled.
Parents and teenagers with cars were trying to get access to the street to pick kids up, but access was difficult due to traffic congestion as well as cruisers blocking access from the east, so there was continued waiting around occurring. In consultation with the Columbus Police Department, it was deemed prudent to work to get the group to disperse. Orders to disperse were given, and the group primarily began to walk westbound towards Roosevelt, southbound towards Main Street, and eventually westbound past Bexley‘s border.
As the group proceeded, Columbus Police continued to arrive on the scene, and by the time the crowd reached Main Street there were north of 100 cruisers and officers on foot assisting with response and crowd control. Bexley Police took an advance position and worked to alert businesses along the route and advise them to lock up while the crowd proceeded. Early on in this procession, a large group of teenagers entered CVS and theft was reported. I walked near the front of the crowd and then past the front and assisted in alerting businesses and ensuring that activity on business patios, etc. was peaceful and that no property damage was occurring. There was some vandalism of a watermelon box at the Giant Eagle property, and a handful of arrests occurred during this time period related to theft and vandalism.
By 9:30 pm, Bexley was mostly clear of large groups, and the Columbus police response continued to the west of us along Main Street. Chief Lewis and I had a phone call with Chief Bryant from the City of Columbus thanking her for the substantial response and support, and discussing a recommendation to close the FunFest for the remainder of the weekend as well as a need to debrief in the near term. Bexley Police second shift was arranged to remain after hours until past midnight, and had already been joined by third shift and additional command staff who had been called in early, soon after the closure of the festival had occurred. We continued to debrief internally, and to provide additional communications around the event on our website and social media.
Regarding the fight that spurred the initial closure of the festival: several arrests of instigators were made by the Columbus Police Department. In total, there were 2 arrests last night from behavior related to the initial fight that took place, as well as activity in the aftermath. Although there had been reported shots fired, there was no evidence of shots fired or of weapons involved in the fight. Subsequently, we have seen some imagery on social media that showed a photo of a gun super imposed after a video of the fight, but no weapons were observed or recovered during the police activity that occurred last night. I say this not to downplay the seriousness of concerns about what occurred, but to provide information on what we know.
Concerns of behavior of this sort have been mounting throughout the region (and nationally), and in fact, this is exactly what led to our decision to move our Fourth of July evening activities to the night of the third this summer, in order to be the same night as most other celebrations in the region. One early takeaway is that, although the festival occurs just outside of our jurisdiction, we will be more actively involved in planning and logistics in future years. As we continue to debrief internally and with Columbus Police and event organizers, we will have additional action items.
I can’t emphasize enough how the substantial Columbus police response to an incident that began in their jurisdiction was swift, well organized, and impressive in its scope and coordination. The post-event crowd that seemed on the edge of losing control was for the most part peacefully dispersed, no injuries were reported, and all of our officers made it home safely. That is a blessing, and one I don’t take lightly.
I also know how traumatizing the rush to exit the festival and the uncertainty of what was happening was for attendees, many of whom were young kids and their parents, or unaccompanied teenagers from our community (including one of my own). Violence has no place in our community spaces, but is unfortunately a potential that needs to be carefully considered and planned around when organizing large community events. There are controls that can be put into place to greatly reduce this risk, and we will not only be working to encourage their use at future FunFests, but also to again re-examine our own events to apply any lessons learned.
Last night was unsettling for many people, and the violent behavior that occurred and any damage to property was complete unacceptable and must not and will not be tolerated. But it’s also worth remembering what else we saw: residents helping kids they didn’t know, officers working tirelessly to keep people safe, and parents doing everything they could to reconnect with their children, and a community that ultimately came through the evening safely.
In the days ahead, our focus will be on learning from what happened, and continuing the work of keeping our public spaces safe, welcoming, and joyful for everyone. Thank you to our first responders, our residents, and all those who showed patience, kindness, and good judgment throughout a challenging night.
/// Update 6/8: Columbus Police initially indicated to us that 11 arrests had been made; revised information from Columbus PD now suggest a total of 2 arrests associated with this event.
