A rowdy frat party at the University of British Columbia came to a violent end on Saturday when partygoers assaulted a number of RCMP officers who had come by to break up a fight.
Insp. Davis Wendell said officers from the University Detachment were called to the campus' fraternity village, located in the 2800-block of Wesbrook Mall, at around 11:30 p.m. with reports that a large fight had broken out.
As many as 15 men were reportedly brawling in the village courtyard surrounded by about 500 revelers.
"Members came upon the individuals in question in combat. When they tried to break up the fight, our members were assaulted by other persons in the crowd," Wendell said.
Two officers were swarmed and received minor injuries.
Matt Parson of the UBC Interfraternity Association denied that the brawlers were frat members. "No one really involved was from the Greek system from what we've gathered," he said.
The association will be taking the incident seriously, Parson added. "Our main concern is the safety and security of our members, and after the investigation we'll see how we can improve on what we have so far."
The University's administration issued a statement on Sunday, promising to work with the RCMP and fraternity organizations to prevent a repeat of what it calls a weekend of illegal and unacceptable behaviour.
"The fraternities must take responsibility for all individuals they host at their parties and in their houses. Many clearly failed in this duty," it read.
Wendell said authorities were not able to identify or arrest the partygoers who attacked police due to the dense crowds and "chaotic situation" at the party. Another suspect who allegedly threatened a partygoer with a handgun was also lost in the fray.
Mounties did arrest two people under the Liquor Control Act. Both were released on Sunday.
Officers from the Vancouver Police Department and the RCMP Lower Mainland District Emergency Response Team were called in to help crowd control efforts. Wendell said police have had their hands full this week with the start of the fall semester.
"What we've seen tonight and what has occurred in the last two nights has been, in all frankness, quite disappointing," he said. "It's only a matter of time until someone's safety is in jeopardy if this continues."
In 2007, a student suffered serious head injuries after falling six metres from a patio in the fraternity village. Earlier this year, an underage student was hospitalized after drunkenly falling off a roof on campus near Koerner's Pub.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Penny Daflos
