Holiday weekend ‘teen takeover’ in Raleigh leaves nine hurt

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — What began as 4th of July celebrations in Raleigh ended with gunfire, fear, and a wave of arrests after what police describe as two massive social media-fueled “teen takeovers” caught on camera in the Glenwood South Entertainment District and the Brier Creek Commons Shopping Center.

Read more ‘Don’t mess with mother nature’: Wake County residents recovering after strong storms Monday

Multiple business operators said that the police actually advised them to shutdown early to protect customers and employees.

“It’s a very lively neighborhood, but stuff like that deters people from coming downtown, which is, I think, the worst part,” Brian Sculker said.

Sculker lives right in the middle of the massive social media-fueled “teen takeover” — caught on camera — that took over Glenwood South on the 4th into the 5th of July.

An estimated 2,000 underaged kids and young adults were hanging out along the street and joined by another 3,000 who showed up from Brier Creek, according to Raleigh Police.

Shots were fired at both locations.

“We heard, like, bangs,” Nadir Bouche said, who owns Greek Fiesta restaurant at Brier Creek Commons. “We assumed there was fireworks.”

According to court documents, at least 27 adults — ranging in age from 18 to 24 — face 47 charges stemming from the uproar in Glenwood South. The charges include simple assault and assaulting a police officer.

By Sunday morning, nine people had been shot, dozens of others arrested, and police still were searching for the gunmen responsible as some businesses look to recoup their losses. 

“Yeah, they were causing problems here, too,” Bouche exclaimed. “They were stealing drinks that we have. We started charging them for water cups because they just kept stealing sodas. And I kept kind of calling them out on it.”

Raleigh police say it all started at Brier Creek Commons’ Star Spangled Block Party as some of an estimated 3,000 underaged kids and young adults tried to take over 4th of July celebrations with fist fights and gunfire.

Read more More video expected during hearing in case against man accused of killing Charlie Kirk

“I started hearing like four to five gunshots,” Angie Rivera said. “I got scared and I ran back so they could open the side door for me.”

She said the Cabo Mexican Cuisine restaurant, where she works, became a refuge.

“And I see people running and I let a few people inside,” said Rivera.

Officers responded to reports of fist fights near the movie theater before multiple shots rang out outside a Target store.

Two innocent adults were hurt — one struck by gunfire and the other injured by shattered glass from a bullet-riddled car.

Police detained one juvenile carrying a handgun but say investigators do not believe that teen fired the shots.

“It was really scary for me to hear about it,” concerned mom Sarah Salinas said. “Because I’ve been here in the past with my family, and it’s meant to be a fun event and it turned into a very scary situation.”

After the Glenwood South shootings, police officers were investigating a related shooting at a nearby gas station on Capital Boulevard that left two people hurt.

Everyone injured in the shootings at Brier Creek, Glenwood South and Capital Boulevard are expected to be okay, and police said they are still searching for the shooters in all three incidents.

Moving forward some residents, business operators and customers say they just simply want to take back Glenwood South and the Brier Creek Commons shopping center from any and all disrupters. 

The teen takeovers in Raleigh were not isolated.

Similar social media-organized teen gatherings were reported or closely monitored over the holiday weekend in several other communities, including Greenville, NC, where officials implemented temporary juvenile curfews, while cities such as Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Orlando, New York and other areas also reported large gatherings, heightened police deployments, or related violence tied to online-organized meetups.

Read more Explosions rock Damascus, wounding 4, as French President Macron visits Syria