1 injured in California city after surfing contest
By AMY TAXIN, Associated Press
Jul 29, 2013 4:21 PM CDT
Alejo Muniz, of Brazil, makes a big turn to earn big points during the men's final against local surfer Kolohe Andino on Sunday, July 28, 2013, in Huntington Beach, Calif. Muniz won the men's championship along with Hawaiian Carissa Moore, who defeated Courtney Conlogue to win the women's competition....   (Associated Press)

Police say one person was injured and seven arrested after an angry mob surged through a California seaside city trashing property and clashing with police after the U.S. Open of Surfing.

Huntington Beach police Lt. Mitchell O'Brien said Monday that one person was treated for injuries at a hospital after apparently being hit by a bottle and a rubber projectile police fired to disperse the crowd on Sunday night.

O'Brien says some officers also suffered minor injuries.

Police say more than 100 officers were called in to quell the violence that erupted when a fight followed the surfing contest.

O'Brien says the raucous crowd tore out a street sign, toppled portable toilets and broke windows.

Police say nine people were detained and two were later released.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

An unruly crowd surged through a Southern California city's seaside downtown after the U.S. Open of Surfing, brawling, looting a bicycle shop, clashing with police and trashing property before authorities broke up the melee and made arrests, authorities and witnesses said.

Police from several cities were called in to quell the disturbance Sunday night in Huntington Beach. Several officers and people received minor injuries.

The weeklong surfing competition drew thousands of people to the Orange County city that bills itself as "Surf City USA."

A large fight broke out between some people in a crowd after the contest ended. When officers tried to break it up, the mob surged downtown, police Lt. John Domingo told KNX-AM on Monday.

The crowd pulled down a stop sign, and a man used it to smash the front window of a bicycle shop, which was then looted. Other people brawled, threw bottles, toppled portable toilets, rocked a city truck and threw a chair into a fountain.

"You see a mob of people running up the street," said Bert Etheredge, a salesman at the Easyrider bicycle and skateboard shop. "That's when we decided to shut down the shop and turn off all the lights, lock everything and kind of go into hiding, if you will."

The crowd then pulled down the stop sign, he said.

"It was coming through the window two seconds later, and that's when people started jumping in and pulling the bikes out," Etheredge told KABC-TV.

Police used nonlethal ammunition to help disperse the crowd.

Witness Doug Cavender told KABC-TV the scene was "really, really nuts, and it got really crazy really fast."

"I really honestly didn't think stuff like this happened in the OC," he said.

One person was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, and seven were arrested for other crimes including disturbing the peace, unlawful assembly and inciting a riot, Domingo said.

"We're extremely disappointed and saddened by the disturbance," said a statement on the U.S. Open of Surfing website. "We work tirelessly with city staff, police, fire and other agencies to ensure a safe environment for all."

Investigators planned to review video and could make more arrests.

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