Violent Night, Unholy Night At Target

KENNEWICK - The holiday scene at a Target store included the crunch of rival gang members hitting one another with baseball bats, while pepper spray wafted through the air and shoppers dove for cover.

A roving gang fight ended Thursday night when a police officer confronted the brawlers and blasted them with the noxious chemical.

No bystanders were injured, although some were coughing because of the spray.

The clash involved about 15 youths, with members of one gang chasing a smaller group from another gang, police said. It started about 4:30 p.m. at Columbia Center mall, said Kennewick Police spokesman Mike Blatman.

The youths fled the mall before police arrived but fought at a nearby bus stop and a restaurant before rushing into the Target.

The gang members ran down the aisles, flashing gang signs and yelling profanities. Some apparently armed themselves with bats from the sporting-goods department, police said.

Charlene Leigh of Connell was at the checkout with a loaded shopping cart and two kids when the melee began. She grabbed her children and crouched, worried about possible gunfire.

Blatman said the police officer, whose name was not immediately available, arrived while most of the youths were fighting at the front of the store. The officer ordered them to put down their bats. When they refused, he squirted them with pepper spray.

The coughing youths scattered and fled. Eleven were detained. Police think four suspects slipped away.

One youth was taken to the hospital with a back injury from being hit with a bat. He was treated and later released.

Police did not release names but said almost all the youths were from Pasco.