Penn State Students Riot Following Paterno Firing

Chaos broke out on the streets of State College Wednesday night as thousands of students supporting ousted football coach Joe Paterno organized a flash mob and overturned a news van.

The mob assembled after the university board of trustees announced Paterno’s dismissal. PSU president Graham Spanier was also ousted. Tom Bradley has been named interim coach.

Police responded instantly to maintain order. The number of injuries or possible arrests was not immediately available.

Paterno was dismissed by the Penn State board of trustees Wednesday in wake of a disturbing child sex abuse scandal involving the former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno has been under constant criticism since the story broke about a week ago. Sandusky was charged with 40 criminal counts of molesting eight young boys between 19914 and 2009 through his charitable foundation for at-risk youths. Many people questioned why Paterno didn’t go to police after being told that Sandusky sexually assaulted a boy in a school shower in 2002.
Paterno said in a statement early Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the season, but the university’s board of trustees met Wednesday night and decided that Paterno should go immediately. John Surma, the vice chair of the board of trustees said the decision was in the best interest of the university.
Joe Paterno, who has been the Penn State University football coach since 1966, holds the record for most bowl victories (24) by any coach in history, most victories by any Division 1 coach in history (409), and has been induced into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.