March 28 (UPI) — Police arrested 160 people and dozens of guns were confiscated during a chaotic spring break weekend in Panama City Beach, Fla., authorities said Monday.
Local police and Bay County, Fla., sheriff’s personnel said they seized 75 illegal guns during the disturbances, during which large, rowdy crowds forced road closures and prompted a coordinated law enforcement response from across the Florida panhandle area.
A 21-year-old Alabama man was shot and injured on Sunday at the height of the melee, the Panama City News Herald reported.
Other reports indicated unruly crowds of revelers forced businesses to close, including what Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez called the “absolute destruction” of a Walmart store during a press briefing held Monday,
Authorities displayed scores of confiscated weapons ranging from pistols to shotguns to semi-automatic rifles and vowed a strong response to the behavior, including the possible imposition of a curfew next weekend.
“What we saw this past weekend was absolutely unacceptable, period,” Talamantez said. “The behavior of these pathetic cowards that came to our beach and committed these crimes — their actions will not be tolerated.”
“We were faced with dangerous circumstances but stood firm in protecting our county,” added Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford. “Each one of these 75 firearms … represents a violent encounter with law enforcement, and I’m so proud of the law enforcement officers who stood in that gap [between] citizens and the criminals who were carrying these guns.”
Nearly half of those arrested are Alabama residents, they said.
The Panama Beach disturbances came a week after city officials in the prominent spring break destination of Miami Beach, Fla., imposed a curfew as a response to a violent weekend earlier this month.
Five people were shot and injured in the city 10 days ago despite a beefed-up police presence.
