An unsettling incident unfolded on a cruise ship when an Ohio couple allegedly barged into another family’s cabin, attacking two adults and a child. This outburst followed a request for them to lower their noise level, leading to their arrest.
The individuals, identified as Gannon Jacox, aged 29, and his partner Brooklyn Hicks, 28, were taken into custody as the vessel docked at Port Canaveral, Florida. This was confirmed by Brevard County Sheriff, Wayne Ivey, who provided details of the altercation.
Sheriff Ivey explained that the confrontation began following a loud argument between Jacox and Hicks, who had been drinking. A person nearby asked them to be quieter, which presumably sparked the clash.
According to the authorities, Hicks faces charges of burglary with battery and battery-touch/strike. She and Jacox are accused of forcefully entering the family’s cabin on the cruise ship, heightening the tension on board. (Brevard County Sheriff’s Office)
Ivey elaborated that Hicks aggressively approached the person who had requested they quiet down, while Jacox simultaneously filmed the scene with his cellphone. Alarmingly, he reportedly urged Hicks to physically engage with the victims.
The couple then pushed their way into the family’s cabin, where the 9-year-old was inside, the sheriff said.
“As a fight ensued Jacox ends up hitting all 3 people (including the child) and Hicks was just swinging, hoping one would land,” Ivey wrote in a Facebook post.
Ivey said Jacox struck all three victims during the fight. Hicks also threw punches, according to the sheriff.
Gannon Jacox was charged with burglary with battery and child abuse without great bodily harm after authorities said he struck three people, including a 9-year-old child, inside a cruise ship cabin. (Brevard County Sheriff’s Office)
Jacox suffered an eye injury during the confrontation that Ivey said could have come from one of the victims or from Hicks as she threw punches.
None of the three victims was seriously injured, according to Ivey.
Jacox was charged with burglary with battery and child abuse without great bodily harm, while Hicks was charged with burglary with battery and battery-touch/strike, according to the sheriff.
Authorities have not identified the cruise ship involved in the incident.
Four cruise ships were scheduled to dock at Port Canaveral on Saturday: Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas, Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Treasure and Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras and Carnival Freedom, according to the port’s schedule. It was not immediately clear which ship Jacox and Hicks had been aboard.
Ivey used the arrests to warn cruise passengers about drinking excessively and causing trouble.
“So what’s the moral of the story…if you can’t hold your liquor, then you definitely shouldn’t be out in public causing a scene like this and injuring random people including a child!!” Ivey wrote.
Cruise ships dock at Port Canaveral in Florida. Authorities have not identified the cruise ship where the alleged attack occurred. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“And if that memo is not clear enough for you then you might want to stay your butt out of Brevard County!!”