Large fight breaks out in downtown Wilmington during Halloween celebrations

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Halloween celebrations in downtown Wilmington were interrupted Saturday night after a large fight broke out in the middle of Front Street at 12:30 am Sunday

Video provided to WWAY by the Great Apes Cafe podcast shows several people fighting in the street, with one person thrown to the ground.

An officer can be seen attempting to break up the fight as several people continue fighting. The altercation lasted approximately one minute before about a dozen additional law enforcement officers arrived at the scene.

The fight is the latest in a series of violent incidents in downtown Wilmington this year.

In March, Edilberto Espinoza Sierra was shot and killed by law enforcement. Less than a month later, two separate stabbings occurred downtown on the same night.

Andre McCracken, who traveled from Southport to Wilmington with friends from Great Apes Cafe for Halloween celebrations, witnessed the fight.

McCracken said the frequency of recent incidents downtown is concerning, but he does not plan to let them stop him from visiting the area.

“It’s kind of a shocker how frequently its going on now, just all stacked up on top of each other like that. I wouldn’t say I’m scared or anything or my peers are scared,” McCracken said. “We’re just trying to live our lives, have fun, enjoy ourselves. We don’t want to let things that happen in this world keep us from living our lives and stuff like that.”

WWAY has reached out to the Wilmington Police Department for additional information about the fight, including whether any arrests were made.

Police have not responded as of Sunday evening.