Heightened security is coming to Tybee Island this weekend as the controversial Orange Crush festival returns, bringing with it concerns over a recent surge in unpermitted teen takeovers.
“Rest assured that we have heard you and that public safety will always be our top priority,” Tybee Island Police Department Capt. Emory Randolph said in a statement to Fox News Digital when asked about residents’ concerns over the upcoming weekend’s festivities.
“In recent months, stories of so-called ‘teen takeovers’ have popped up across the country,” Tybee Island police said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
“This phenomenon hit home just over a week ago, when an unpermitted event on the beach was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Now, as we approach the return of Crush Reloaded, members of our local and online communities have expressed concerns.”
The move follows a surge in nationwide “teen takeover” events, a trend that hit home last week when gunfire disrupted an unpermitted beach gathering on the island.
Tybee Island police are coordinating with state and local agencies to brace for the upcoming Crush Reloaded weekend, they said.
Residents, police said, can expect a heavy law enforcement presence starting Thursday from the Georgia State Patrol to local Sheriff’s offices, supported by K-9 units and helicopters.
To maintain order, police are also launching a road safety checkpoint on Highway 80, carving out emergency lanes on main roads and shuttering the 14th and 16th Street parking lots.
The move came as nationwide teen takeover events are spreading.
Last week, a mass of teens participating in a takeover on Tybee Island, Georgia, was interrupted in panic after police say gunfire broke out along the pier.
According to the Tybee Island Police Department, authorities responded around 6:30 p.m. on April 4, when hundreds of people gathered near the Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion area, a popular spot in the laid-back beach community.
During the course of the “unpermitted, pop-up event,” officers said they heard a single gunshot ring out, and the crowd began to scatter.
Video shared by the department captured hoards of teens running away.
Visitors on the island who were nearby when it happened said the scene turned chaotic.
“Out there were like 15 girls. Came out yelling at us two last night for no reason,” the visitors, who asked not to be identified, told WTOC-TV.
“We were here, but, like, it was like, drunk white girls. Just a cloud of white girls just walking around.”
In the early 1990s, Orange Crush had a reputation for being a wild, crime-filled weekend, and Savannah State University disassociated with the event in 1991 because of the high number of arrests and reports of violence.
Three years ago, the event moved to Jacksonville, Florida, “due to lack of resources, limited parking, civil rights violations and political injustices,” according to a June 2021 story on Jacksonville.com, which cited the event’s website. The website has since been taken down.
The event returned to Tybee Island in 2023 for the first time since 2020.
