The term “teen takeover” gives the impression of a bunch of innocent, misguided kids hanging out at a local parking lot, such as many teenagers did in days of yore, where they hung out, played music, and maybe occasionally drove a bit recklessly. In current parlance, however, the term “teen takeover” has morphed into organized riots that take over city intersections, shopping malls, and more recently, popular beaches. The gatherings should be called what they are…violent and sometimes deadly juvenile delinquent and young adult riots terrorizing various locations.
With the Fourth of July weekend upon us, cities nationwide are bracing for more weekend mayhem, which in some cases has forced cities to either cancel organized holiday events or enact juvenile curfews.
Fox News Digital reports, for example, that in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, police have increased staffing and are using drones to stop these organized riots on town beaches and are stopping large gatherings before they spiral out of control, MassLive.com reports.
Falmouth Police Lieutenant Ryan Hergt told the outlet that the agency has taken steps to prevent such large gatherings in light of struggles to contain them over the past several years.
In June, police in Ocean City, Maryland stopped a teen riot in its place that was advertised on social media as a “Late Night Beach Party Link Up.” The department was tipped off by the Baltimore Police Department and several organizers were arrested before the planned riot could occur, WTOP reported.
Greenville, NC is taking it a step further, with the city’s mayor enacting a curfew for the holiday weekend in response to threats of similar events taking place there, The Reflector reported.
The city issued a statement including the following:
“Greenville Mayor P.J. Connelly has established another temporary curfew for juveniles under the age of 18 in downtown Greenville to help ensure their safety.”
On June 20, a so-called “takeover” occurred where several brawls broke out in the downtown area. Social media threatened a similar event last weekend. As a result of the perceived threat, a curfew was put in place last weekend as well.
Past similar events have resulted in serious assaults and gunfire, such as one that took place on Tybee Island in Georgia in April, where several gunshots rang out, sending scores of teenagers scurrying like rats.
While in some cases authorities have waited for such incidents to spiral out of control before acting, a former prosecutor, Margaret McLean, told Fox News Digital that it isn’t necessary for police to wait for chaos to take hold.
“It’s a big preventative measure that police are using. They’re monitoring the social media…arresting some people for rioting. If these organizers are worried that they may face criminal charges or they may get a criminal record or even go to jail, they may step back and decide not to organize one of these events,” she said.
Despite police response to some of these incidents, police themselves are sometimes targeted by rioters, being attacked and having out-of-control attendees climbing on top of patrol vehicles and jumping up and down, smashing windshields, and other mayhem.
McLean said the “takeovers” are a priority for police because they have the potential to quickly turn violent, as has been seen during previous events.
“People can be trampled,” she said.
“What makes them so dangerous is fights can break out and somebody, an innocent bystander can get pushed down or hurt, or they can fall and hit their head and then die from a bad head wound,” McLean added.
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