15-year-old arrested in Long Beach shooting that left another teen injured. What the city is doing to address safety
LONG BEACH, N.Y. -- A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in connection to a Long Beach shooting that left another teenager injured Thursday.
Now, the city is making changes to ensure a safe summer.
"Senior Skip Day" on Long Island ends with gunfire, police say
In a video, the sounds of gunfire and screams can be heard before people start running. The disorder happened just days before school will officially be let out for the summer.
Police say it all happened at a "Senior Skip Day" as a crowd of more than 2,000 high school students from across Long Island and Queens gathered on the beach and boardwalk.
"It was advertised through social media," Long Beach Acting Police Commissioner Richard DePalma said. "When you have a large group like this, it can go from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds."
Police say around 7 p.m., it did.
"Disorderly groups within that group, some fights occurred," DePalma said.
When authorities tried to break up the unpermitted event, they say crowds made their way to the nearby Long Island Rail Road station, where shots rang out.
Police say a 16-year-old boy was shot in the stomach. He is currently recovering in a local hospital.
According to police, a 15-year-old boy was arrested for his part in the shooting. He faces a long list of charges, including attempted assault and reckless endangerment.
Police say they have obtained plenty of video surveillance, which they are still sifting through. The investigation is ongoing.
Long Beach leaders aim to make beach safer
Friday, Long Beach city leaders had a stern message.
"If you are coming to Long Beach to cause chaos, we will not tolerate it," City Council President Brendan Finn said.
Leaders are coming up with ways to make the beach safer, including starting the season almost two weeks early.
"Effective immediately, by emergency executive order, I am declaring the 2024 beach season to begin today," City Manager Daniel Creighton said.
That means workers will be making sure everyone on the beach pays for a day pass, the beach will only be open from dawn to dusk, and unpermitted gatherings of groups larger than 100 people won't be allowed.
"Council will also be granting me, as the city manager, the authority to direct the police department to close the beach at any time," Creighton said.
Residents are hoping the extra enforcement works.
"When you seem swarms of kids coming in, it's definitely a concern," resident Andrew Alcina said.
"The problem with yesterday was, it was easy to get on the beach," resident Pricilla Cippolini said.