Florida cracks down on organized teen takeovers: ‘We will keep our streets safe’
Deputies shut down 5 teen takeovers
Deputies in Pinellas County a putting a stop to teen takeovers and have another warning for juveniles and parents. FOX 13’s Kylie Jones reports.
LARGO, Fla. - A sweeping law enforcement crackdown is underway across Florida to permanently end chaotic, social media-driven "teen takeovers" of beaches and public parks.
During a press conference on Thursday in Largo, top state officials announced zero-tolerance policies, severe felony charges and advanced digital tracking after recent gatherings erupted into violence.
Florida Law Enforcement Response
What we know:
A mass gathering of hundreds of kids on Clearwater Beach last month quickly devolved into chaos and ended with a 17-year-old being shot, according to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
Police arrested a 16-year-old in connection with the shooting, marking the latest in a string of disruptive events where juveniles use social media to swarm and take over local areas.
In response to information that another teen takeover was planned for Wednesday at Clearwater Beach, 60 officers were deployed to the sand and established strict no-trespass zones.
Anyone entering these designated zones now faces a third-degree felony charge.
RELATED: Bay Area law enforcement increases patrols as 'teen takeover' events spread across counties
Law enforcement officers are also creating special vehicle enforcement zones where traffic fines double, and cars can be impounded for 72 hours.
Officers are also actively visiting the homes of suspected organizers to disrupt these events before they start, while emphasizing that minors caught with handguns will be charged as adults.
Unanswered Investigation Details
What we don't know:
It remains unclear exactly how many parents have been penalized so far under the state's push for parental accountability. Investigators have not disclosed which specific online networks or accounts are being targeted by cyber units, nor have they released the locations of upcoming suspected takeovers currently under surveillance.
Coordinated Social Media Networks
What they're saying:
On Thursday, Gualtieri said that in less than a week, they busted five planned "teen takeovers" before they could happen.
Gualtieri says that between June 5 and June 10, there were takeovers planned around St. Pete Beach, downtown St. Pete, Gandy Boulevard and Madeira Beach.
"We're knocking on the door and what we're telling them is, ‘This isn't happening,’" Gualtieri said. "So, these are ones that were out there. They were broadcast on social media. They were published. People had committed to going, and they got canceled because our message is, ‘We're going to do this the easy way or the hard way, and you're not going to like the hard way.’"
Law enforcement officials say a lot of these events are planned on social media.
"This is coordinated, it's a larger network operation that appears to be funded, likely by some out of town operatives," Uthmeier said. "We see use of technology, social media to generate these invitations."
Gualtieri says people involved in these takeovers can face misdemeanor or, in some cases, felony charges, including rioting, inciting a riot and trespassing when posted by law enforcement.
State Financial Consequences
Why you should care:
Tourism serves as the top economic driver for the state, and officials stress that chaotic images spreading across social media damage the family-friendly environment Florida relies on.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the state will aggressively pursue strong criminal prosecutions and utilize anti-rioting laws passed five years ago, which state that blocking traffic and threatening violence is illegal.
State prosecutors plan to leverage cyber tools and digital footprints to level severe Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charges against large-scale event operators who spend money to engineer these dangerous gatherings.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who detailed the localized law enforcement response and specific beach arrests, as well as Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who explained the statewide legal strategy, cyber tracking initiatives and incoming criminal charges.