Nation IN BRIEF : MASSACHUSETTS : 15 Arrested in Melee as Police Shut Club

Hundreds of patrons protesting the closing of an unlicensed Latino social club smashed windows and pelted police with rocks and bottles during a three-hour rampage. Police had asked owners of the members-only Quisquellano Lounge in Lynn, Mass., to clear out a crowd estimated at about 250 people. Police Lt. Joseph Rowe said the club was “unsafe and overcrowded,” although it had no official occupancy limit. “After several requests were made, both in English and in Spanish, directing everyone to leave . . . people refused to leave . . . and a kind of mob psychology took over,” Rowe said. Police reinforcements were called in as the angry crowd grew to about 500 people and filled the streets in the center of the Boston suburb. No serious injuries were reported. Rowe said that 15 people were arrested, most for investigation of disorderly conduct or failure to disperse.