Parents cited, juveniles arrested for chaos during Charlotte July Fourth fireworks show
Police arrested 17 juveniles, cited 15 of their parents or guardians and seized four firearms after mayhem erupted in an otherwise peaceful crowd of tens of thousands enjoying the Charlotte Knights’ fireworks show in uptown Charlotte late Tuesday.
Several fights among juveniles led to the arrests and gun seizures outside Truist Field, where the Knights hold the annual event, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officials said on Twitter.
A few of the juveniles who were arrested showed up to “intentionally disrupt” the gathering by running through the crowd wearing masks and other unruly behavior, CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Two CMPD officers suffered minor injuries, while no one in the crowd was hurt, police said.
Charges against the juveniles included affray, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting a public officer, assault on a government official, disorderly conduct, possession of a firearm on city property, possession of pyrotechnic and failure to disperse.
Their parents were cited for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by leaving their teens unsupervised, Jennings said. The juveniles are 13 to 17 year olds, he said.
“As the event went on, CMPD saw an increasing number of unsupervised juveniles enter the uptown area,” CMPD Lt. Kevin Pietrus said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “Some of the unsupervised juveniles and teenagers began to disrupt the peaceful events of the night, creating a chaotic scene towards the end of the night.”
CMPD officers said they had “a strong presence” at Romare Bearden Park to make sure everyone left the Fourth of July event safely. That presence averted further chaos as people ran from the park into businesses or shelters, Jennings said.
“We did have a robust plan, and when things did kick off, we were able to de-escalate very quickly,” he said, referring to the fights and other disturbances.
Scene from uptown balcony
Crowds of people began running from the park around 9 p.m., according to footage from the balcony of an apartment obtained by Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC.
Groups of juveniles lit illegal fireworks, causing “some concerns” among people in the crowd, Jennings said.
“But it was far more than that,” he said. “There were also some juveniles who did nothing but try to cause disruption by their actions alone. Simply putting on a mask and running through a crowd is enough to certainly cause concern with anyone out there.”
The police chief said the juveniles carried out “planned behaviors” and said things could have ended worse without a robust response from CMPD.
Still, police intend to “dissect” their plan for covering such major events to find any areas of improvement, Jennings said.
“We have to get out in front of those few people who want to cause disruption,” Jennings said.
To anyone alarmed by what happened Tuesday, he said uptown is a wonderful place to gather and people should know that police are present.
“That is not who Charlotte is, and that’s not what we represent,” Jennings said about the few juveniles who he said disrupted the event
This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 11:24 AM.