JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The Jacksonville Beach Police Department said they knew in advance about a large group of people congregating at the beach for what they described as "organized fighting."
Police Chief Gene Paul Smith they staffed their officers accordingly, but several members of the community want to know why authorities did not do more to break up the group.
Smith said they were aware of the non-permitted event in advance because it was promoted on social media. According to the promotional flyer, activities included football, volleyball and boxing. Smith already assigned extra police to be at the beaches Sunday.
First Coast News Crime and Safety Analyst Ken Jefferson said, to his understanding, the large group of teens were not doing anything unlawful on the beach. Jefferson said conducting fights would have been grounds to break up the event, but it didn't happen. At that point, it's just a large group of teenagers at the beach, he said.
"At the point of them congregating to try and have their fight competition is when the police would've justifiably been to able to disperse that particular crowd because - one, they didn't have a permit," Jefferson explained. "Two, there was too many people involved with that to be well organized."
Jefferson said people would have to commit the act or try to commit for police to intervene. Shots were fired soon after hundreds of teens were told to disperse.
Three people were injured and one person was killed. Police recently named the victim as 21-year-old James Jones III. Police are investigating three separate shootings while looking for three young suspects.