CLICK HER FOR UPDATED STORY 11:15 P.M.
UPDATE TO ORIGINAL STORY, WHICH FOLLOWS BELOW:
LAPD spokeswoman Mary Grady said nine people had been arrested for public drunkeness, vandalism and inciting a riot.
“There’s going to be a lot more than that,” she added.
At least one vehicle was set on fire.
A short time after the game ended, Los Angeles police declared an “unlawful assembly” in an effort to break up the crowd and formed a skirmish line at Figueroa and 11th streets to control a large group that had formed there.
The crowd was pushed away from the intersection, but pockets of violence were reported throughout the city.
Authorities were also concerned about possible problems at the Shell Station at Olympic Boulevard and Grand Avenue, which got looted a year ago, according to Los Angeles police.
In East Los Angeles, a crowd gathered near Whittier Boulevard, but no major problems were reported there, either, according to Captain Mike Parker of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau. Hundreds of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were in the area,
which was closed to vehicle traffic between Eastern and Garfield avenues, said Capt. Mike Parker of the sheriff’s department.
Police also reported people on Hollywood Boulevard at Highland Avenue, and some people throwing bottles on the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway near the Golden State (5) Freeway in Granada Hills.
ORIGINAL STORY:
As the pylon lights at LAX were lit purple and gold in honor of the Los Angeles Lakers win, 83-79, over the Boston Celtics at the Staples Center in the final game of the NBA Championship, fans took to the streets to celebrate.
No serious problems were immediately reported, and the crowd was “pretty much peaceful,” according to KCAL9 reporter at the scene outside the Staples Center.
Some injuries have been reported, however.
According to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department, multiple patients have been treated by paramedics outside the Staples Center tonight as crowds of fans celebrate the Lakers’ victory.
Two arrests were reported of people who would not comply with officers’ orders, according to KCAL9.
Los Angeles police have five times the presence compared to last year, when some violence and destruction occurred during a celebration.
Earlier, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged people to stay home unless they had tickets to the game, but thousands of ticketless fans showed up anyway.
On June 14, 2009, the Lakers sealed an NBA championship with a victory in Florida against the Orlando Magic. That night in Los Angeles, there was a melee outside Staples Center that included a bonfire.
During the various impromptu celebrations that erupted, a shoe store was broken into and cleaned out of its stock; a gas station was looted; a Metro Blue Line train was damaged; a dozen LAPD vehicles and a sheriff’s vehicle were damaged; and six Metro buses were damaged. Several LAPD officers were hurt, and more than a dozen people were arrested.
Following a year-long probe, investigators in Los Angeles and Riverside counties served 31 warrants and numerous arrests targeting a tagging crew believed to be responsible for vandalizing a Metro bus during the 2009 melee.
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