An in-store appearance by Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Kanye West was interrupted on Saturday when a fight broke out between one of the rapper's fans and a security guard, The Associated Press reports.

West was rushed from the scene, and escorted out the back door of FTK, a new urban boutique located in Fresno, California. The producer had been signing autographs for just over 40 minutes when the store's grand-opening event was cut short by the fracas.

The store's doors were locked, and local authorities spent close to 30 minutes trying to disperse a crowd 1,000 strong that had assembled in FTK's parking lot.

"Once security couldn't control it, we had to shut it down," store employee Aron Hekimian told the wire service.

It is not clear what exactly provoked the scrap, or whether anyone sustained related injuries. It was not known whether police made any arrests in connection to the event.

Store owner Sam Hensen said an afterparty with West at a nearby club went off without a hitch. Not everyone who'd attended the in-store was able to make it to the party, though, leaving several fans disappointed.

"Everybody's chance to meet Kanye West was ruined," said 19-year-old Anna Reyna, who told the AP that she'd waited in line for the rapper's autograph, but was one of the many fans who never got to see him.