Video showing girls fighting in downtown Springfield has gained nationwide attention

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - A fight caught on camera in downtown Springfield is generating thousands of views on the web. The video shows four girls attacking each other on Worthington Street late at night. The fight went on for more than four minutes while onlookers pulled out cellphones to film the brawl.

By Wednesday afternoon the Youtube video had generated more than 87,000 views.

This now has some residents wondering why something wasn't done sooner, and whether the city's new Late Night Entertainment Ordinance will make a difference in downtown violence.

We showed some Springfield residents this video.  Ronnie Blackwell was surprised when he saw how violent the fight was but also said, “that's the end result of Friday nights in downtown Springfield with the mixture of alcohol and people."

This video was shot late at night near the Entertainment district and has been viewed by thousands around the world. It shows four girls pulling, yanking, and punching.

You can tell by the way they shot the video that it happened on the corner of Chestnut and Worthington but it wasn't just on the sidewalk, the fight happened in the middle of the intersection.

It has many residents shocked about the violence and how long it lasted. "I'm surprised that it went on that long because like I said the police presence down there at this time of night, they're usually all over the place I'm surprised no one is there right now, it's really surprising," said Blackwell.

You can see in the video, people stood around and watched the fight escalate while more people pulled out their cell phone to record.

We asked Stephen Kane of Springfield what he would have done in this situation.  He said, “get the cell phone and dial 911.  I mean depending on the situation and I could help someone, I would."

22News spoke with Springfield Police about this fight and asked why it went on for more than four minutes before an officer showed up. Sgt. John Delaney said people should have been using their cellphones for dialing instead of filming. "Who knows what could have happened, they could have been hit by a car, some other violent fights could break out at the same time at that vicinity and these people are filming it, they're just as guilty."

Sergeant Delaney also said, he thinks the city's new Late Night Entertainment Ordinance will be able to help with this type of disturbance now that bars and nightclubs will be filtering people out at earlier times in the night.

WARNING: You must be 18 and older to view the video, it is graphic and contains strong language.