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Street Party Morphs Into Chaotic Scene In Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - A party-turned-riot made for a wild night for as many as 1000 people in a Fort Collins neighborhood just a few blocks west of Colorado State University's campus.

The idea reportedly started on Facebook touting this as a "legendary" block party, but it quickly grew out of control Saturday night.

"I think it was everybody's goal to go big," says party-goer Mason Coggins. "They wanted to to be on the news and for it to be a big deal."

"The Facebook group kinda started it. About 530 kids said they were going to be going," said student Alexander Brown.

That number quickly doubled in size.

"It was chaos it was fun. It was a good time. But it definitely got out of hand real quick," says Michael Chavez.

"There was a crowd of damn near 1000 people," adds Chavez.

Some students say the party was peaceful until local police returned with riot gear.

Fort Collins
(credit: Kate Morris/Twitter)

"The cops showed up and just bottles were flying. People were throwing bottles at cars and just rebelling," Chavez says.

PHOTO GALLERY: See More Images From The Street Party

Police fired tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets into the crowd.

"We caught crossfire, just whack-whack! My back and stomach and guts (were hit)," Coggins says as he showed CBS4 the quarter-size bruises on his torso from the rubber bullets.

BREAKING: Police Use Tear Gas on CSU Block Party by Dillon Thomas on YouTube

Soon after the crowd broke up in the early morning hours, many party-goers took to social media and posted photos and videos online.

CSU officials say any media posted on the Internet will help their investigation.

"Our conflict resolution services will definitely be reviewing those videos," said CSU Dean of Students Jody Donavan.

She says any CSU student charged and found responsible for participating in a riot is in direct violation of the University's code of conduct and students will face significant consequences.

Fort Collins Police Use Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets To Break Up Giant Street Party Near CSU Campus On April 27-28 (Images Compiled From Video Provided To CBS4 And From Social Media)
(credit: CBS)

"It could range from loss off good standing with the university all the way up to suspension or expulsion," she said.

Fort Collins police were not available for comment on Sunday but so far no official arrests have been made.

Three students were injured in the block party. They were taken to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries.

- Written by Nina Sparano for CBSDenver.com

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