Melee involving 200 people breaks out in Cahokia late Saturday

A large fight broke out in a building that holds a VFW hall late Saturday night, with an estimated 200 people involved.

Herb Simmons, director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency said Cahokia Police and other units responded about 11:30 p.m. to VFW Post 1699, which is housed in a building on Water Street. It was unclear whether the melee occurred inside the VFW or in an adjacent portion of the building. Simmons said that a notice was broacast by his agency that stated that 200 people were involved.

Simmons said officers from the East Carondelet Police Department were among backup sent by several departments, including the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department and the Illinois State Police.

State Police Sgt. Jason Ramert said two troopers from the State Police in Collinsville, who were patrolling in the general area, were sent to back up Cahokia officers and others. Ramert said they did not file a report.

Lawrence Purcell, chief of the Cahokia Police Department, was contacted at home on Sunday where he had returned that day from a vacation. Purcell said he had no knowledge of the incident that, he said, would have been reported to him if it “had been something serious like a shooting or a stabbing.”

A Cahokia Police Department dispatcher, when asked whether there were any arrests, said, “I don’t believe so.”

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This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Melee involving 200 people breaks out in Cahokia late Saturday."