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Clearwater, Florida, police are warning of a shutdown of “teen takeovers” after a boy, 17, was hospitalized following a shooting tied to a social media meetup Sunday.
The Clearwater Police Department’s threat management unit was made “aware of a planned gathering at the beach,” Deputy Chief Michael Walek said a Sunday night news conference, adding that “some of those people who gathered decided to break the law tonight.”
“That kind of behavior cannot and will not be tolerated,” he continued.
“I want to send a very, very clear message to anyone who plans to come here and engage in the kind of behavior that we saw this evening: Don’t do it; if you do, your trip to the beach will end up with a trip to jail.”
Police nationwide have been dealing with a spate of teen gatherings that have led to lawlessness.
“You can phrase it however you want: Teen takeover, meetup, it’s all organized on social media,” Walek said, stating that hundreds of people gathered in this incident that led to the shooting that occurred during a fight that broke out.
The shooting happened around 5:15 p.m. ET on Sunday in the 100 block of Coronado Drive, according to Clearwater Police. Officers responding to reports of gunfire found the teenage victim suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital.
“His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening,” Walek said.
The police deployed extra officers and resources as several disturbances broke out across the area and officers detained several people after the shooting, though others fled the scene, according to Walek.
Police have not publicly identified those detained, announced charges or said whether they recovered the weapon used in the shooting.
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Witnesses described a chaotic scene as gunfire erupted near the beach.
“I heard probably what I figured 6 or 7 gunshots,” beach resident Dylan Gilbert told Fox 13 Tampa Bay. “I was like what’s going on.”
Resident Janette Walker said she and her daughter saw the injured teenager after the shooting.
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“I told my daughter, oh my god, that boy was shot,” Walker told the local station. “They have towels on his stomach, and they could see blood coming through, and it looked like he got shot in the stomach.”
The incident unfolded during the first weekend after school let out, a time when police said they were already aware of an uptick in teen beach attendance and had additional resources in place, with assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and Largo Police Department.
“This is the first weekend of school being out and this is going to be the last weekend that this type happens,” Walek said.
Residents said the repeated large gatherings have become a threat to public safety and a burden on businesses that rely on beach visitors.
“It’s been a crisis for years,” Walker said. “They need to really crack down and figure out who’s doing the Facebook, who’s sponsoring it and stop it.”
Walker said the takeovers are damaging the beach community.
“These takeovers are ruining it for the people who work down here and are trying to make a living,” she said. “Everybody we heard from today are pissed off.”
Police have not released the identity of the injured teenager or said who organized the gathering online. Investigators also have not confirmed how many shots were fired.
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Walek emphasized that despite the violence, Clearwater Beach remains safe for families and visitors, and said police intend to prevent future meetups from escalating.
“Clearwater Beach is family friendly; it’s safe,” Walek said. “This is a bunch of kids acting like kids, and I’m telling you it won’t happen again.”