Video depicts violence on Strip

By Luke Nozicka

A video depicting people fighting Saturday morning on the Strip reached more than 15,000 views by Monday morning.

The video, posted by YouTube account PassedOutUniversity on Saturday, shows several people beating an individual on South Illinois Avenue.

“Our understanding tonight is that two individuals arrested were students,” University spokesperson Rae Goldsmith stated in an email Sunday night. “We can’t speak to overall arrests.”

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Taylor Serrata, a Jimmy Johns employee working during the incident, said the fight occurred at 2:40 a.m. She said the restaurant locked its front door for about 10 minutes during the event.

“There were three fights in front of Jimmy Johns. … It was just a huge amount of people—at least 100 people,” said Serrata, a junior from Kankakee studying criminal justice. “It was just complete chaos.”

Several people who commented on the video criticized the behavior of individuals in it.

“Perhaps if it were harder for [people] with criminal backgrounds to get in at SIU, Carbondale would be a safer place and decent [people] would want their kids to go to school there,” username Andrea Bullar posted on the video.

“Unfortunately, the poor behavior of a few individuals, whether or not they are students, can be damaging to everyone,” Goldsmith’s email stated. “We urge students and others to avoid large, alcohol-fueled gatherings either as bystanders or participants.”

This story will be updated online as more information becomes available.

Luke Nozicka can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @lukenozicka.

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