A popular Florida spring break destination has declared a state of emergency stemming from several days of chaos leading to over 100 arrests. Additionally, five shootings were reported throughout Volusia County over the same timeframe.
The City of Daytona Beach issued the declaration, along with a seven-day overnight curfew for minors, in response to several recent incidents involving spring breakers wreaking havoc on the area, according to FOX 35.
“Daytona Beach should no longer position itself as a Spring Break destination,” Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said.
“It is not a decision against tourism, but a decision against unsanctioned high-risk activity that strains resources, disrupts our community and places unnecessary demands on public safety personnel.”
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The move is reportedly in response to thousands of college-aged beachgoers descending on the sandy shores for unauthorized beach “takeover events” organized on social media, FOX 35 reported.
“We’re focusing in that core area with the kids that are out there underage drinking, smoking weed, all that stuff, so that we have tools to be able to get them off the street,” Young added.
Last weekend, countless spring breakers arrived to partake in the unsanctioned event, draining resources and putting strain on local authorities attempting to maintain order.
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In response to the chaos, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood declared various special event zones throughout Daytona Beach, FOX 35 reported. The move gives authorities the ability to double fines and citations, impound vehicles for up to 72 hours and issue occupancy limits on the beach.
Authorities made more than 130 arrests last weekend, including 84 in Daytona Beach and 49 in New Smyrna Beach.
Chitwood is also looking to prosecute organizers of the unsanctioned events promoted on social media after video of thousands of spring breakers frantically running from the beach went viral, with initial reports indicating the crowd was responding to the sound of gunshots in the area.
“We’re going to be the first county — and my attorneys are working on it now — we are coming after you financially,” Chitwood said in a news conference earlier this week, according to FOX 35.
“And if I could come after you criminally, I would. So, don’t sit behind a keyboard in Georgia or Orlando or wherever and think you’re going to do these truck events and these takeover events, because it’s not going to happen. There is a way to do business. Get permits and do things the right way.”
Chitwood later added there were no reports of gunshots on the beach and the source of the crowd’s panic was due to the sound of individuals smashing water bottles.
Officials have also noted that while they were aware of last Saturday’s takeover being promoted on social media, the department lacked the resources to adequately calm the chaos.
“It’s not like these folks RSVP,” Young reportedly said. “So it’s somewhat of a guessing game as to how many people are actually showing up, and we do our best to make sure we have resources out there, but truth be told, with the amount of people that were in town this weekend, I literally have, have about 222 sworn officers.”
“Even if I had deployed all 222 sworn officers, in comparison with what we were dealing with, we were still grossly outnumbered, and there were still going to be some incidents like we were seeing on social media.”
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and Daytona Beach Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
