Clearwater Beach 'teen takeover' shooting: Brandon teen faces gun charges; suspected shooter remains at large

CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. - Detectives with the Clearwater Police Department say they’ve identified a suspect in Sunday’s shooting on Clearwater Beach, but no arrests have been made tied to the shooter yet.

Police said hundreds of teens came to Clearwater Beach Sunday afternoon for a "teen takeover" event. They’ve been happening recently across the state, most recently in Tampa in May.

Investigators say the teen takeovers are part of a national social media trend: large groups gather in public, and they often lead to violence like Sunday.

"These are two groups of kids that don't get along," Clearwater Deputy Chief Michael Walek told the Clearwater City Council Monday. "This is not just attacking random people."

Clearwater Beach shooting investigation

The backstory:

Around 5:15 p.m. Sunday, police said a 17-year-old was shot during a fight near Coronado Drive and Devon Drive. He is expected to be OK.

Clearwater police said officers detained multiple people for investigative purposes. A 17-year-old Brandon teen was arrested and charged with obstructing or resisting an officer without violence, unlawful carry of a concealed firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor under 18. He ran from the scene of the shooting, police said, but wasn’t the shooter.

Police have not named the Brandon teen arrested.

Walek said they had an increased police presence before the shooting on Clearwater Beach Sunday because they’d heard about the gathering.

Police response, future enforcement 

What they're saying:

Clearwater City Council members praised police for their response and talked about ways to tackle teen takeovers in the future at a work session Monday.

"What we saw yesterday is behavior that is completely unacceptable," Council member Ryan Cotton said. "It's reprehensible and will not be tolerated within the city limits of Clearwater, as far as I'm concerned. I did send out an email to the police chief, city manager and city attorney to look into ways to be more unique and give our police officers more teeth in holding people accountable, be it the parents, be it these organizers… help equip you all better to be able to keep our beach and city just as safe as it's already been." 

Council members called on parents to keep track of what their kids are doing.

"While our team is fully capable to manage these situations, it's a shared responsibility in our entire community to keep our community safe, and not just the men and women with a badge," Council member Mike Mannino said. "Guardians, parents, neighbors, community leaders, we all share in that responsibility and being vigilant in our community. We need to make sure as we get into the summer as families and neighborhoods, we keep our kids busy, keep them structured, keep them accountable, find things for them to do that help them make positive choices with their lives and not just out of boredom, show up to some other town… because we've seen time and time again, we're not unfortunately immune to situations like this that we see on the news," Mannino said.

Safety concerns

Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector said his son works at a hotel at the beach, and was just a few hundred feet away from the shooting when it happened.

"In my view, my personal view, and I talked to my son last night, it made it look like it was complete chaos for a long period of time out there, and it was not," Rector said talking about videos on social media. "Our police officers, as you said, knew it was coming, had the beach under control at all times. Were there some moments that, yes, obviously it got out of hand. And thank God that my son wasn't somehow inadvertently involved in it. And all those families that were around, there was traffic on the street. I thank God for their safety because it was, there were difficult moments as you know, but I want to assure the public… it is safe every day," Rector said.

Walek says since December, there have been 11 teen takeovers planned in the area. Nine didn’t happen and two were dismantled by police.

"We also use a letter that we've been sending out to people that post these type of… these incidences, and letting them know that we got this letter from working with Volusia County Sheriff's Office, that this type of event is not going to be tolerated, and there are consequences that go along with it," Walek said.

Businesses impacted

Some employees of businesses nearby said they’re worried about the possible impacts on tourism this could have.

"Look at it today," Bob Pick, the kitchen manager at Sandcastle Inn Arcade, said Monday. "It's quiet. This is the start of the summer. Yesterday, everybody shut down. That's not the way you want to end your week. Yeah, it is quite an impact. You know, everyone's standing around right now, hoping that it's over with and everything gets back to normal." 

Many involved came from outside Clearwater

Dig deeper:

According to Clearwater police, many of the people involved in Sunday's events traveled from outside the city, including from Hillsborough County, Polk County and other areas.

In May, Tampa police arrested 22 people aged 12 to 21 after a teen takeover of Curtis Hixon Park. Police seized two guns and drugs there. There have also been these types of takeovers in Orlando, Atlanta and Detroit, leading to curfews in some spots.

Tampa officials say they’re also looking at more prevention strategies and youth outreach programs. They held one event in May.

Investigation remains active

What we don't know:

Police have not announced any arrests related to the shooting itself, and detectives continue searching for the person responsible for firing the shots.

Investigators have also not released details about a potential suspect, whether a weapon has been recovered, or what specifically caused the altercation that preceded the gunfire.

What you can do:

Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to contact the Clearwater Police Department at (727) 562-4242.

ClearwaterCrime and Public Safety