Crowds due to too many tickets sold, riots, a 15-year-old in an alcoholic coma, two hundred young people trying to get in and being pushed back with difficulty by the police. An evening to forget at the Maturaball, the traditional party for high school graduates to finance the end-of-year school trip, at the Forum in Bressanone, already the scene of the brutal beating of a young man two weeks ago.

The municipal structure can accommodate about 1,000 people but late on Saturday evening, realizing that the influx inside was now well beyond the permitted limit, the municipal officials asked the police and stewards to block the entrances. At that point about 200 young people, many of them intoxicated and almost all in possession of tickets sold by the organizers well beyond the permitted capacity, attempted by force to break through the cordon of police, carabinieri and stewards.

Inside, meanwhile, there was a 15-year-old girl who had lost consciousness in the toilets after abusing alcohol , and there were difficulties in providing assistance due to the crowd and the beginning of a fight, with broken glass and bottles left on the floor.

The head of the public order service, on the orders of the police commissioner Paolo Sartori, gave the order to stop the music, turn on all the lights and provide medical assistance to the girl and the other young people in difficulty. After more than an hour, the safe exit was started. Investigations are underway to identify who administered alcohol to the young girl, as well as those who instigated the attempt to force the public order device at the entrance to the Forum. The organizers of the Maturaball will also be fined.

Police Chief Paolo Sartori then released a note explaining that "what was supposed to be a party night unfortunately ended in the worst possible way, due to the improvisation and lack of professionalism shown by the organizers, as well as the violent behavior of the young people, most of whom were minors. My decision to suspend the Maturaball was necessary to ensure the safety and security of hundreds of kids in a situation that could have easily turned into a tragedy." Less than 2 weeks ago, on January 15, again at the Maturaball, an 18-year-old Italian was beaten by South Tyrolean students shouting "Italian bastard" for trying to defend a minor friend . The victim suffered a head injury, a fractured eye socket and a broken nose. The beating was filmed on cell phones but no one intervened to help him.

(Online Union)

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