Toronto Star

Parking lot punch-up caught on camera

Police investigat­e after video of Mississaug­a mass brawl viewed more than 1.2M times

- ALEXANDRA JONES STAFF REPORTER

A video of a brawl involving a crowd of people in a residentia­l Mississaug­a parking lot that went viral has prompted a police investigat­ion into the incident.

The video, posted on World Star Hip Hop’s Instagram account, has racked up more than 1.2 million views. Shouting and expletives can be heard as several people physically clash, some of them carrying what look like poles or bats.

Peel police Const. Bancroft Wright said the fight broke out at about 6 p.m. on Aug. 14 near Hwy. 10 and The Queensway W.

They responded to the area over reports of a disturbanc­e with “10 to15 people fighting,” Wright said.

When police arrived on the scene, everyone scattered.

Police managed to locate and speak to a few of the people involved, but were unaware of the details of the brawl until a video filmed by a woman in a nearby building was brought to their attention.

In the video, the brawl takes a turn for the worse when a dark sedan backs up a couple of lengths and accelerate­s toward the people still clus- tered in the fight.

Two men can be seen diving out of the way, narrowly avoiding being pinned between two vehicles as the sedan smashes into the front of a silver vehicle as people scream in the background.

The sedan pulls away and a man who was standing near the silver car briefly crumples to the ground — it isn’t clear whether he was struck by the silver car’s open door or merely blown back by the impact of the collision.

No weapons were recovered from the initial scene and no injuries were reported, Wright said.

“Police are hoping to speak to the driver of an older-model, four-door, black Cadillac that was shown driving into a silver Honda,” he said. The video footage of the scene suggests the possibilit­y that several charges could be incurred, he added.

“The car looks as if it’s being used as a weapon, and then there was failing to remain at the scene, (so) there’s potential for multiple charges.”

An investigat­ion is ongoing, but Wright noted police can only do so much when the individual­s involved don’t remain on scene.

“It’s one thing if people are coming in, speaking — ‘yes, this happened to me and here’s the informatio­n’ — but if nothing’s coming in then (we’re) a bit behind the 8-ball to find the informatio­n.”

 ?? WORLDSTAR ON INSTAGRAM ?? In this screengrab from a video, a man is seen lying on the ground after a dark sedan rammed into a silver car before fleeing the scene.
WORLDSTAR ON INSTAGRAM In this screengrab from a video, a man is seen lying on the ground after a dark sedan rammed into a silver car before fleeing the scene.
 ?? WORLDSTAR ON INSTAGRAM ?? Some of those involved in the fight on Aug. 14 were carrying poles or bats.
WORLDSTAR ON INSTAGRAM Some of those involved in the fight on Aug. 14 were carrying poles or bats.

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