JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – In new information released Monday, Jacksonville Beach police now say five teens were injured by gunfire during a “takeoer” event Saturday evening at the beaches.
All five were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. One has since turned 18.
The chaos of the shooting was captured on camera by a News4JAX viewer who was filming from a nearby high rise.
Gunfire can be heard as young people are seen running from the area with a heavy police response.
Previous information from officials indicated one juvenile and three adults had been hit by gunfire, but police later corrected that information.
According to Jacksonville Beach police, the “takeover” event at the beaches that ended in gun violence has connections to the organizers of a similar event that also ended in gunfire at the Avenues Mall a week earlier.
An intelligence brief disseminated to officers before Saturday’s event indicated that the organizers for the Jacksonville Beach event have a large social media following and a “strong link” to the Avenus Mall event.
RELATED: What is a ‘teen takeover’?
The Jacksonville Beach Police Department was on high alert for Saturday’s planned “takeover,” which took place not far from the Seawalk Music Festival.
Earlier in the week, JBPD shared two posts warning against such takeover events at the beaches, after being alerted to the above post promoting the planned takeover.
PSA: Unauthorized and Unpermitted Events are AGAINST THE LAW.
Unauthorized events include any event or gatherings that are publicly promoted and have not successfully completed the Special Events application process. This includes promoting “POP-UP TAKEOVER” events on Instagram, SnapChat, Facebook, etc.
Unauthorized or unpermitted events held on City property will be subject to law enforcement action as authorized by Florida Statutes, including but not limited, to §§316.1891 and 877.03, F.S.
Promoters will be subject to both criminal and civil liabilities.
Attendees breaking the law will be arrested.
Zero Tolerance. No warnings. No do-overs. No second chances. Just some handcuffs and a trip to jail.
A day later, JBPD shared another post with an example of a situation during a takeover in New York.
Despite their warnings, JBPD said, the group still showed up,
JBPD Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said in a news release that his department used the same tactics for Saturday’s event that they used to prevent similar events last year.
“Last year, at least five takeovers were prevented from gaining traction and occurring,” Smith wrote.
Despite their preparation, Saturday’s event ended in violence.
“I am extremely proud of the response from officers on scene that night; they acted with courage and determination in response to the violence,” Smith wrote. “I made it clear to City officials that our efforts would never guarantee an incident such as this would not occur, but it occurred despite our best efforts.”
The incident happened in the area of Beach Boulevard and Third Street, not far from the Seawalk Music Festival, but Jacksonville Beach Mayor Christine Hoffman made it clear the “takeover” was separate from the festival.
“The shootings had absolutely nothing to do with the Seawalk Music Festival that was going on. We have festivals and large events out there frequently. It was a really nice, warm, almost felt like a summer day out there, so we were really, really busy out at the beach,” Hoffman said during an interview with anchor Jennifer Waugh on her 10 a.m. News4JAX+ streaming show.
Hoffman also brought up the Avenues Mall event the week before, saying it’s clear to Jacksonville Beach locals that the trouble started elsewhere.
“Obviously, nobody wants this in their community, but they feel very much that this is kind of an outside problem coming in, not a fundamental problem with Jacksonville Beach,” Hoffman said.
The violence left crowds nearby frightened.
“We made everybody get behind the bars,” said one local employee, who asked not to be identified. “We shut down. We did. We shut down two hours early. This is a huge night, but you know, I mean, there’s things that are more important than keeping a business open. Everybody needs to be safe.”
Hoffman said that despite Saturday’s incident, Jacksonville Beach is expecting large crowds as we head into spring and summer, and that the police department is prepared to keep them safe.
“I think that some of the moves that we’ve made with our police department in the past few years, particularly since the incident of St. Patrick’s Day a few years ago, making sure we have the tools, time and the training for our officers, that we have a fully staffed complement of officers,” Hoffman said. “But we’ve also done some technology improvements, including a drone program, license plate readers.”
Hoffman said a camera system throughout town helps officers who can only be in one place at a time.
“But when you can add in the cameras and the drones, et cetera, that’s going to help us through the busy season, regardless of what the event is and what’s going on downtown,” Hoffman said.
No arrests have been announced in Saturday’s shooting.