BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Shots heard...

BRIEFLY IN

THE NEWS

Shots heard during fight at Hard Rock

Shots were heard during a fight that broke out at the Hard Rock

Cafe in Newport Beach on Saturday night.

Shell casings from a handgun were found in the parking lot, but

“no one appeared to have been hit,” Newport Beach police Sgt. Mike

Dermott said.

“We are still trying to identify who fired the shots,” Dermott

said.

After the fight, one man was arrested on suspicion of battery

involving great bodily injury and is being held in custody. One

person was sent to the hospital.

Between 500 and 600 people were at the Hard Rock Cafe, which had

been rented out to a group from UC Irvine. About 300 people were

still in line to get in when the fight broke out.

The Newport Beach Police Department received the first calls at

about 11:50 p.m.

Several people were detained. In one report, the fight started

with “some kind of shoving contest” that grew as others took sides

and joined in. One man reported that he was chased into the parking

lot and that the shots seemed to come from a moving vehicle, Dermott

said.

Reports of how many were involved in the fight varied from 10 to

20 people.

The manager of the restaurant told police that the evening was

supposed to be a fun dance event, Dermott said.