Chaos ensued at an IRS office in Houston, Texas, as hundreds of people lined up to get assistance with filing their taxes.

According to FOX 26 Houston, the office had to shut down early because a fight broke out and people rushed into the building.

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FOX 26 Houston reports:

Tempers flared outside the Internal Revenue Service’s building as hundreds of people trying to file their taxes and get identity verification were turned away.

“They opened the gates like around 9 or 10 a.m. and I think a couple of people started fighting, so after that, they told everybody to go home,” said Katrel Johnson, a visitor at the tax center.

Adding to the chaos, a wave of people tried to enter the building at the same time.

“All of the sudden everybody went in when they opened the door, and bum rushed and started skipping,” said Tonya Johnson, a visitor at the IRS center.

Katrel Johnson said he drove two hours from College Station to Houston for tax assistance from the IRS, only to be turned away.

From ABC13:

At the IRS office on South Gessner on Saturday, hundreds of people stood in line, trying to get help during scheduled walk-in service before Monday’s tax filing deadline.

Instead, the center closed early, leaving many without answers or the help they needed to file taxes by Monday’s deadline.

According to the IRS, the delays were caused by too many people showing up. Houston police also had to be called to help with crowd control.

On Monday, the IRS released a statement to ABC13 about the identification issue and what’s happening to help those who went on Saturday but were turned away:

“To further assist taxpayers in the Houston area, IRS representatives are calling people this week who we couldn’t serve on Saturday and who provided their contact information. We are also working to fully staff our offices this week and adding more people to help on our phone lines. For taxpayers who have received an IRS letter telling them to schedule an in-person appointment, they should review their tax returns carefully to ensure they are accurate and then call the number provided to schedule an appointment. These taxpayers do not have a deadline for verifying their identity.”

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