Police in riot gear fired non-lethal weapons to disperse hundreds of students who swarmed onto a plaza on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl last night, college officials said.
Edward F. Blaguszewski, a university spokesman, said campus police arrested 14 people, including 13 students, for disorderly conduct after firing smoke bombs and pepper balls to break up the mob. He estimated that over 1,500 people had joined the commotion.
“I would characterize this a disturbance, a number of fights broke out,” he said in a brief telephone interview.
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He said the crowd entered a campus plaza soon after the game ended at about 10 p.m. Videos posted to YouTube soon thereafter show police, some on horseback, in riot gear cutting through the chaotic throngs. Plumes of smoke fill the air.
Blaguszewski said the students who were arrested may be suspended after they appear before the dean of students and a conduct review board.
Alexander C. Kaufman can be reached at akaufman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @AlexCKaufman. Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com.