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Tuesday, April 3
Police clash with rioting Arizona fans
Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. – Police used stun grenades, rubber bullets
and tear gas on crowds of University of Arizona fans who set at
least three vehicles ablaze and tore down street signs.
Police finally dispersed the crowds early Tuesday and opened up
the area around the university that was shut down during the height
of the rioting, said police spokesman Sgt. Marco Borboa.
|  | | Police in riot gear attempt to clear rioters in Tucson. |
Signs of the melee were still visible throughout the hardest-
hit area Tuesday. The wall of a university-area bar had been singed
by Monday night's fires. Several buildings had broken windows but
most of the damage appeared relatively minor. The burned out cars
had been removed.
Assistant Police Chief Roberto Villasenor said 17 people were
arrested on charges that included assault, disorderly conduct and
criminal damage.
An estimated 2,000 Wildcats fans spilled into the streets after
Duke defeated Arizona 82-72 Monday night in the NCAA basketball
championship in Minneapolis.
Initially, police said there were few problems and only a
handful of minor arrests, though a number of small fires in parking
lots and elsewhere were reported.
Then about 1,000 people jammed an intersection near the campus
and set fire to a motor home and at least two other vehicles.
With the damage escalating, police in riot gear ordered the
crowd to disperse and most obeyed. Police later fired stun stingball grenades
and rubber bullets at those who refused to leave.
Several people were hit by the bullets, though the extent of
their injuries was not known early Tuesday.
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Tuesday gathering quiet
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TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats received a champion's
welcome Tuesday even though they returned home without a trophy.
About 2,500 fans, most clothed in red, turned out on campus to
show their support for the team, which lost 82-72 to Duke in the NCAA title game Monday in Minneapolis. They weren't lacking in
enthusiasm.
"I just want to tell them they're still No. 1 in our hearts,"
said Arizona graduate Joel Lucero, waving an Arizona flag.
The roaring crowd inside Arizona's football stadium brought a
smile to coach Lute Olson.
"It shows we as a team know who's No. 1 as far as fans," Olson
said.
Senior Eugene Edgerson elicited cheers as he spoke of exceeding
expectations. Though the Wildcats were ranked No. 1 to start the
season, they struggled until hitting their stride just before the
NCAA tournament.
"Realistically we shouldn't have made it as far as we did,"
Edgerson said as his teammates doused him with water. "We beat the
odds." |
Judy Thurston, a nursing supervisor at University Medical
Center, the nearest hospital, said two people were hospitalized
early Tuesday and that seven or eight others were treated for
injuries.
Thurston wouldn't release details but said none of the injuries
was believed to be life-threatening. She also said several people
refused treatment after arrival.
Police said several complained they were mistreated by police
and that an investigative team was assigned.
Villasenor said 500 officers were assigned to postgame duty to
respond to potential problems.
"Everybody started going nuts when they started shooting,"
said Robert Thacker, a university student. "I saw they looted
stores. It was like a war zone."
Arlene Leaf, owner of Tucson Thrift, said the windows of her
shop had been broken.
"It's just so very stupid, just sad and tragic," she said.
"Right now I think of all the people in the world who have real
problems and they're doing this over a game."
Samantha Devick, a 21-year-old university junior who watched
from one of the bars on the avenue, agreed the violence was out of
line.
"I thought it was all disgraceful – the fire, the army of
police," Devick said. "We were celebrating we got as far as we
did get this year (in the tournament), not the vandalism."
Lyndon Reilly, who works at a bar on that street, had a large
bruise on his right side which he said was a result of being struck
by one of the rubber bullets.
"We were outside protecting our windows and I was flashing a
light at the kids on the roof," he said. "I just took two steps
outside and they hit me."
Donna Rossi, a reporter for Phoenix television station KPHO, was
struck on both legs by a piece of metal but said the injuries were
minor. Treated by paramedics, she remained at the scene and
continued reporting.
"I wish at least they would have won for all this trouble,"
she said, referring to the Wildcats.
Police had cordoned off the entire campus early Monday by
closing streets to vehicular traffic, a precaution to avoid having
motorists trapped, as some were in 1997 after Arizona won its first
national championship by beating Kentucky.
That year, revelers overturned at least one car, scrambled onto
rooftops and shattered windows on homes and vehicles, including a
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