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In Tampa, Florida, a large gathering at Curtis Hixon Park on Friday night spiraled into chaos, leading to the arrest of nearly two dozen individuals. According to Tampa police, the situation escalated around 9:30 p.m., involving participants aged between 12 and 21.
Police body cameras recorded scenes of people engaging in physical altercations, with officers intervening to restore order. Overhead footage revealed significant crowds amassed in the park during the incident.
During the police response, authorities seized two firearms and impounded a vehicle linked to the disturbances.
The 22 individuals detained face a range of charges, including affray, possession of narcotics, resisting arrest without violence, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Charges for the 22 include affray, possession of narcotics, resisting without violence, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
“Nothing good comes after a certain time of night,” Luis Martinez said.
Martinez, who has two children, believes stronger supervision may help prevent future incidents like these.
“Parenting has, over the years, there’s too many kids controlling their parents, and not parents controlling their kids,” Martinez said.
Freddy Barton, executive director of youth violence prevention organization Safe and Sound Hillsborough, said parents need to know where their children are.
“What 12-year-old has the right to say, ‘I’m getting ready to go hang out and go God knows where,’ and their parent doesn’t know where they are?” Barton said.
Barton added communities must address problems happening at home and in neighborhoods to prevent incidents like this from continuing.
“We have to understand that if we do not address the home environment, if we do not address the community environment, we’re going to hit the reset button every single day,” Barton said.
Barton said gatherings like these are not unique to Hillsborough County and are happening across the country. He said parents should monitor social media, talk with their children and securely store firearms.
“These takeovers are not limited to Hillsborough County,” Barton said. “They’re happening everywhere. It’s imperative that we’re looking at social media, talking to our kids, and most importantly, if you own a firearm, secure these things.”
Barton also said parents must take greater responsibility instead of relying on law enforcement, schools, or community organizations to solve the problem.
“We have got to get parents to be parents right now,” Barton said. “We can’t blame this on law enforcement. They didn’t say that there weren’t enough law enforcement or there weren’t enough police present. We need more parents present. We can’t put this on the school district and say we need to have more programs. We need to have things. We can’t put this on the community organizations. We first have to start in the home, in the community, and parents need to police their own children.”
Barton said Safe and Sound Hillsborough operates a youth gun offender program for children as young as 11 and 12 years old who avoid commitment programs.
He explained participants spend six months taking anger management and life skills courses while also visiting trauma centers, funeral homes and morgues and hearing from families impacted by gun violence.
Barton said the program’s recidivism rate remains below 20%, but some children still fall into incidents like Friday night, and warns of the following:
“When that bullet leaves that chamber, it has no name on it,” Barton said. “Understand that life is precious and when you make the decision to pick up a firearm, you’re not just causing wreckage upon the victim, you’re causing breakage upon your life. Your mother’s life, your father’s life, your brother, your sister, and your community’s life. So please understand life is precious and so are you.”
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw commented on the matter in a statement:
This type of reckless and criminal behavior will not be tolerated in our city,” said Chief Lee Bercaw. “What began as a large gathering quickly escalated into disorder and activity that placed others at risk. Parents need to know where their children are and who they are with. Unfortunately, the poor decisions made by these 22 individuals last night could have lasting consequences that follow them well into adulthood. The Tampa Police Department remains committed to being one of the safest major cities in the nation, and we will continue taking strong enforcement action against anyone who threatens the peace and safety of our community.
-Chief Lee Bercaw, Tampa Police Department
Authorities named programs that could help keep the youth engaged, such as ‘Pal’s Midnight Basketball’ and ‘Stay and Play’ which provide late-evening hangouts.