JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A massive crowd, a pop-up party, and a strong police response — it all unfolded near Friendship Fountain over the weekend when hundreds of teens gathered in Southbank for a “planned takeover” event.
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According to JSO, its officers safely broke up the gathering on Saturday night after witnessing some of the event’s attendees engaging in drug use, fighting, and pepper-spraying each other, also arresting one individual who was found with a gun in their backpack.
“We encourage all parents and guardians to speak with their children about safe and responsible activities. These takeover-style gatherings are not only illegal, but they can also be extremely dangerous,” said JSO.
But this is not the first time a gathering of hundreds of teens has caused concern.
Earlier this month, Clay County deputies cleared a similar crowd at Orange Park Mall after reports circulated of fights and disruptions inside the location.
And last year, violence broke out in Jacksonville Beach during a massive St. Patrick’s Day gathering where three separate shootings left one person dead and three others hurt.
That chaos prompted Jacksonville Beach Police to launch a zero-tolerance policy and a strategy called “spring surge” that involves flooding the beach with officers during high-risk weekends throughout April and May.
“We’ve become fully staffed, and since we have become fully staffed, we were able to repopulate some of our specialty units,” Jacksonville Beach Police officials said. “And a lot of people don’t know we have a special unit that works in our little downtown area east of Third called Downtown Cape.”
As summer winds down, law enforcement says they’re staying alert, monitoring social media, tightening curfew enforcement, and working with neighboring agencies to prevent the next pop-up.
Police also reminded parents that children under the age of 18 may not be out in public after 11:00 p.m. on weeknights or after midnight on weekends unless accompanied by an adult or participating in a permitted activity such as work.