Dance-Off Leads to Rumble

[angelophile]

An impromptu contest between two drill teams Saturday turned into a fight. A mother and son face charges.

"This is a whole new arena" of crime, said Lt. Jeff Easter of the Wichita Police Department's gang and felony assault section.

The Dynamic Steppers, a local drill team, was practicing routines at McAdams Park near 13th and I-135 on Saturday night when members of another drill team, the White Tigers, showed up and challenged the others to what was described as a "dance-off," police said.

When it became clear the challengers were losing, Easter said, a 28-year-old woman struck a 17-year-old drummer with the Dynamic Steppers in the face with a drum stick. The teen, who had left the White Tigers recently to join the Dynamic Steppers, retaliated by punching her in the face. He then ran toward his Ford Explorer and tried to run over spectators with it, witnesses told police.

An estimated 50 people were involved in the altercation, although only two people were facing charges on Monday.