SONOMA — Police are reviewing cellphone videos from a fight at Sonoma’s Tuesday Night Market after two teenagers went to the hospital and a woman was arrested during the first market night of the season.
The fight broke out around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at Sonoma Plaza, while the market was underway and a band was playing at the amphitheater. Sonoma police received several 911 calls about a fight involving juveniles along the east and north sides of the plaza.
Officers from the Sonoma Police Department and deputies from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office arrived while the fight was still going. Police say they identified and separated five people believed to be involved: four juvenile females and one adult female.
The scene did not end when officers stepped in. Police say several of the females tried to charge at one another while deputies were still investigating. A deputy stopped them before they reached the other group.
Sonoma Valley Fire District crews evaluated the injuries. Two juveniles were taken to Sonoma Valley Hospital for further evaluation.
Police arrested the adult woman on suspicion of inflicting corporal injury on a minor. Her age was not released. One juvenile female was arrested or cited on suspicion of obstructing a peace officer.
The case may not stop there.
Police say they have received several cellphone videos showing the fight before deputies arrived. Investigators are reviewing the footage to decide whether more charges are warranted.
That detail matters. This was not a brief scuffle between two people at the edge of a public event. Police say about 20 juveniles and young adults were near the fight, with many of them recording on their phones and verbally encouraging the confrontation.
For Sonoma, the timing is rough. Tuesday Night Market is one of the city’s most visible weekly events, drawing families, tourists, vendors and residents to the plaza through the warmer months. The May 5 market was opening night for the 2026 season, which runs each Tuesday evening through Sept. 8.
The city promotes the market as a weekly gathering built around local produce, prepared food, music and crafts. It is the kind of event that depends on people feeling comfortable letting kids roam a little, meeting friends by the plaza and staying into the evening.
Police now have a different job: reassure the public without overstating the threat.
Sonoma Police Chief Brandon Cutting says officers will be at every market this season, and police expect to increase their presence at upcoming events. That response suggests the department sees the fight as more than an isolated discipline problem. It is now a public safety issue at a city-sponsored gathering.
Police also notified the local school district and school administrators because four of the youths involved are students at Sonoma-area schools. The schools are expected to work with law enforcement to help keep campuses safe.
That is another sign the case has moved beyond the plaza. If the conflict started elsewhere, continued at the market or follows students back to school, police and administrators will need to know that quickly.
The bigger concern for market organizers is copycat behavior. A public fight becomes easier to repeat when a crowd rewards it with attention. Police say bystanders were not just watching. Some were filming and encouraging it.
That gives investigators evidence, but it also shows why the incident escalated in front of so many people.
There is no indication that the market itself is unsafe or that police believe there is an ongoing threat to the public. But the first night of the season now leaves city officials, police and market organizers with a practical question: How do they keep the plaza open, relaxed and welcoming while making clear that group fights will bring arrests?
For now, police are asking anyone with information to contact the Sonoma Police Department at 707-996-3602.
More charges may come after investigators finish reviewing the videos.
For marketgoers, the most visible change may come next Tuesday: more officers in the plaza, more eyes on groups of teens and less patience for anyone turning a community event into a stage for a fight.