Tear Gas Deployed During Brawl at Popular U.S. Basketball Tournament

A security guard turned to tear gas to break up a massive fight between fans during a high school basketball tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The brawl broke out during the John Wall Holiday Invitational tournament at Wake Tech Community College on Wednesday night during a game between Farmville Central and Kissimmee, Florida's Life Christian Academy, according to Bryan Hanks, a spokesperson for the tournament.

In a statement, Hanks said that when the fight began, security "had already been stretched thin" due to a fight that occurred prior to the game among players from Southern California Academy of Castaic, California, and Moravian Prep from Hudson, North Carolina.

A security guard "sprayed tear gas to successfully break up the fight" after the brawl began, the statement said. The gym was evacuated by officials shortly afterward.

The deployment of the tear gas "created an unsafe situation for players in the Farmville Central and Life Christian game" prompting the tournament to reschedule the game to Thursday morning.

Several videos posted across social media showed the moment the fight began.

In a video posted to Twitter by user Bryce Stueck, several fans can be seen beating each other up near the sideline of the court. As the video continues, the fight escalates to the point where some people start lifting up chairs and using them to hit others.

At one point, a security guard attempts to break up the fight and eventually sprays tear gas at those involved. Still, several individuals continue fighting, prompting the security guard to deploy additional tear gas. As the video ends, the fans can be seen running away from the court.

In response to the incident, the tournament games on Thursday are expected to have a smaller attendance and increased security presence, according to Hanks.

Newsweek reached out to Hanks for further comment.

"What happened tonight doesn't represent John Wall, the Triangle Education Advancement Foundation or the Holiday Invitational," Webb Wellman, the tournament's co-director said in a statement. "We love our players, we love our fans and we will work hard to ensure this doesn't happen again. This event is about the love of the game and violence will never be acceptable."

Wellman continued, "We apologize to our fans and supporters and look forward to better serving you moving forward."