Share and Follow
Tybee Island is ramping up its security measures this weekend in anticipation of the Orange Crush festival, a gathering sparking discussions due to a recent uptick in unapproved teen gatherings.
“We want to assure everyone that your safety remains our utmost priority,” stated Capt. Emory Randolph of the Tybee Island Police Department in a message to Fox News Digital, addressing the community’s concerns about the festival.
In a Facebook update on Tuesday, Tybee Island police noted, “Reports of ‘teen takeovers’ have emerged nationwide in recent months.” They highlighted a recent incident where gunshots interrupted an unauthorized beach event, raising local worry ahead of the Crush Reloaded festival.
This response comes on the heels of increased “teen takeover” events across the country, with a local incident just last week where a beach gathering was marred by gunfire.
The Tybee Island Police Department, alongside Georgia State Police, will be overseeing security during the Orange Crush event. (Photo credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News/USA Today Network)
Tybee Island police are coordinating with state and local agencies to brace for the upcoming Crush Reloaded weekend, they said.
Residents, police said, can expect a heavy law enforcement presence starting Thursday from the Georgia State Patrol to local Sheriff’s offices, supported by K-9 units and helicopters.
To maintain order, police are also launching a road safety checkpoint on Highway 80, carving out emergency lanes on main roads and shuttering the 14th and 16th Street parking lots.
WATCH: Teen takeover erupts in Georgia
The move came as nationwide teen takeover events are spreading. Last week, a mass of teens participating in a takeover on Tybee Island, Georgia, was interrupted in panic after police say gunfire broke out along the pier.
According to the Tybee Island Police Department, authorities responded around 6:30 p.m. on April 4, when hundreds of people gathered near the Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion area, a popular spot in the laid-back beach community.
During the course of the “unpermitted, pop-up event,” officers said they heard a single gunshot ring out, and the crowd began to scatter.
Video shared by the department captured hoards of teens running away.
Orange Crush attendees at past events have littered parts of Tybee Island’s beach with trash in the sand and in the water. (Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Visitors on the island who were nearby when it happened said the scene turned chaotic.
“Out there were like 15 girls. Came out yelling at us two last night for no reason,” the visitors, who asked not to be identified, told WTOC-TV.
“We were here, but, like, it was like, drunk white girls. Just a cloud of white girls just walking around.”
Festival goers run from the stage after someone yelled that a gun was seen on Saturday, April 19, 2025 during Orange Crush on Tybee Island. (© Richard Burkhart/ Savannah Morning News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
In the early 1990s, Orange Crush had a reputation for being a wild, crime-filled weekend, and Savannah State University disassociated with the event in 1991 because of the high number of arrests and reports of violence.
Three years ago, the event moved to Jacksonville, Florida, “due to lack of resources, limited parking, civil rights violations and political injustices,” according to a June 2021 story on Jacksonville.com, which cited the event’s website. The website has since been taken down.
The event returned to Tybee Island in 2023 for the first time since 2020.
<!–>
–>