A block party at the University of Cincinnati turned violent when a group of students celebrating Cinco de Mayo became unruly.

The party erupted into chaos early Saturday five blocks from campus on Stratford Street.

According to Mitchel Livingston, vice president for student affairs at the UC, more than 1,000 students attended the block party, but only about 100 were involved in the mayhem.

“At first everyone was just hanging out in the street, drinking and having a good time. Then around 11 p.m. the cops showed up and tried to break up the party. I think that’s when the problems started,” said Dennis Ly, a junior in marketing at the UC.

Students began breaking windows and turning over cars in protest after police officers tried to contain the party, said Lt. Kurt Byrd of the Cincinnati Police Department.

The officers dispatched to the scene had to use tear gas and bean bags in order to re-gain control over the crowd.

“There were 20 officers dispatched in riot gear around 11:30 p.m. and they had things under control by 2 a.m. Officers did have to Mace the crowd, and a couple of bean bags were thrown, but there were no serious injuries reported,” Byrd said.

The Cincinnati Police Department will try to prosecute everyone involved, but there are still many people who have not been identified.

“So far we have made five arrests, but we are working to identify more people. We have gotten a lot of video and still photos from bystanders and TV stations which will help us immensely. We intend to prosecute anyone involved in this riotous behavior and would appreciate any information that witnesses have regarding this disturbance,” Byrd said.

UC students involved in the uproar are also going to be punished by the university.

“We are working with the Cincinnati police department to identify those who were involved. Anyone from the University of Cincinnati that was involved in this is going to be severely reprimanded,” said Greg Hand, a UC spokesman.

This is the second consecutive year a Cinco de Mayo party on this street has created problems.

“Apparently this party is going to be a yearly thing now. The students are referring to it as Cinco de Stratford,” Byrd said.

“This is the second time this incident has caused students to spontaneously spill out into the street,” Livingston said. “This disturbance is not typical of our students, and it is not going to become a habit.”