Chesterfield birthday party turns violent

A 16th birthday party Friday in Chesterfield County ended with a fight involving as many as 100 people, reports of gunshots and a search for a missing teenager, police said.

The brawl took place shortly after 10 p.m. outside the Bensley Community Center on Drewrys Bluff Road -- the same building where an event was held this month to celebrate National Night Out, an anti-crime effort.

It is unclear what started the ruckus, said Chesterfield police Capt. Kevin Smith, adding that someone also kicked a car's fender, causing about $200 in damage.

No serious injuries were reported, but the parents of an 18-year-old man reported him missing about 3 a.m.

His parents had heard, correctly, that he had been assaulted during the brawl, Smith said, and police started looking for him. Then about 1 p.m. yesterday, the parents informed police that their son had been in Richmond.

"He had gone to the city to get away from this incident," Smith said.

No charges had been placed, but police are conducting separate assault investigations.

-- Reed Williams