Police said about 500 teens were outside waiting to get into a dance party at the Skate Ranch on Capital Boulevard when fighting started to break out just after midnight.
About 500 teens who were already at the party were told to get out of the building due to the the disruption outside, forcing an early end to the party and a fight to break out.
"It was a lot of people that showed up to the event. It was a lot of people in the line and they weren't letting everybody in so everybody started rioting," attendee Marcus Pulley said.
Parents desperately sought their children amid the chaos.
"I'm very, very upset. I had to come pick up my son out of a cop car. That wasn't good at all," parent Ricardo Nunez said.
"They were just throwing kids on the ground," attendee Shatasha Dillard said. "They had their guns out, walking around, smiling. I don't think they handled it the right way."
Police described an unruly scene of about 1,000 teens who dispersed onto Capital Boulevard. Members of the fire department also tried to control the crowd.
"It was not an easy situation to get under control," said Lt. Charles Bryant of the Raleigh Police Department. "We do what we can do, the best that we can do and not everyone will be happy."
"They were fighting and pushing. They almost broke the front window in our lobby down," skating rink owner Samuel Orr said.
Orr said he had no choice but to shut the party down just after midnight. The party was scheduled to end at 2 a.m.
"We'll hurt from this loss, from our regular crowds, but you know, we'll come back," he said.
Orr said despite a number of successful parties in the past, he does not plan to schedule any more.
No one was hurt, but several people were arrested for disturbing the peace and for allegedly trying to break into cars.
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