Red Hot & Boom takes place at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs

Estimated 175,000 people packed into Cranes Roost Park

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Tens of thousands of people came out to enjoy the annual Red Hot and Boom Fourth of July celebration at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs Wednesday night, but the fireworks did not go off without a hitch.

The event was plagued by bad weather, some technical difficulties and a brawl.

"I'm still shaking from it," said Christie Kerpsack, who was one of dozens of parents caught of guard when the brawl broke out right before their eyes. "It was scary, and they were making their way towards us and we didn't know if they had guns."

"We told our kids, 'Get out of the way,' we don't want to get involved," said Evelyn Lim, who also witnessed the fight.

"Just fists started swinging and all of a sudden cameras are going up in the air," said witness Casey France. "It's really hard to see, you just see a big ball of people just brawling."

Police took three men into custody, but eventually let two of the men go and charged the third man with disorderly conduct.

The annual Independence Day celebration had started out picture perfect.

The Jonas Brothers took the stage at 8:30 pm as scheduled, but just minutes into their concert, the music went silent due to technical difficulties. Organizers said they still don't know what caused the problem.

An estimated 175,000 people had packed into Cranes Roost Park. Some of them had waited since 6:30 Wednesday morning to get an up-close seat for the popular boy band's concert.

Then around 9 p.m., stormy weather rolled in. The sky turned pitch black and organizers warned people to take shelter.

Finally, by 10 p.m., the fireworks lit up the night sky, about 30 minutes behind schedule.

After the fireworks display, the Jonas Brothers returned to the stage and finished their concert.

Altamonte Springs Police told Local 6, they are pleased with the event and made just four arrests for what they described as "minor" charges.

To find other fireworks celebration events in Central Florida, go to Local 6's event guide.


About the Author
Lisa Bell headshot

Lisa Bell has been in Central Florida since 2007, covering the big stories that impact our community. Lisa was promoted to News 6 evening news co-anchor in May 2014.

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