ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A planned teen takeover event at St. Augustine Beach Pier is canceled… Or at least that’s the message St. Augustine Beach Police Department is sending.
Whether at Friendship Fountain in July of last year, the Orange Park Mall last fall or Jacksonville Beach and the Avenues Mall back in February, teen takeover events have been popping up all over our area for the past two years.
So, when Michael, a St. Augustine Beach local, heard a teen takeover is scheduled at the St. Augustine Beach Pier Thursday, he was unhappy, to say the least.
“A teen takeover? I’m not for that. No!” said Michael.
Now, St. Augustine Beach Police Department is sending a message to the organizers: Don’t try it.
“We ended up getting word that they’re gonna have this takeover, so we preemptively canceled it for them,” said St. Augustine Beach Police Department Assistant Chief of Police Travis G. Harrell.
Harrell said beachgoers should expect a heightened police presence near the beach throughout the day Thursday, as officers will be on the lookout for any unpermitted events popping up.
“Everybody is welcome. We want everybody to come to our beaches, have a good time. Follow the rules. Be a decent human and our interactions will be marvelous, you know?” said Harrell. ”Shooting one another, drinking, loud music, disrupting the tranquility of the beach, that’s when we’re gonna have problems with you.”
The heightened response comes just after another teen takeover event in Clearwater caught the eye of Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier.
That event resulted in a 17-year-old being shot and hospitalized.
In a social media post, Uthmeier warned teen takeover organizers they now “have my attention”.
Uthmeier ordered the statewide prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those who organize the events.
And that message is music to the ears of St. Augustine locals like Michael.
“Hell yeah! That is what should be done!” said Michael.
Harrell told Action News Jax that police already know the names of the organizers behind the takeover scheduled for Thursday.
He said if the event comes to fruition, their information would be going straight to the Attorney General’s Office.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.