ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – The streets of downtown Rock Hill are quiet on this Wednesday, but on July 3rd during the city’s annual Red White and Boom event the streets were anything but that as families headed downtown to celebrate Independence Day.
That excitement quickly turned into chaos for many according to the Rock Hill Police Department as a group of juveniles created panic towards the end of the festival.
According to Lt. Michael Chavis with RHPD, during the event a group of about 40 unsupervised, unaccompanied juveniles engaged in an incident to cause panic.
Chavis says the juveniles ran through the crowd shouting someone was shooting a gun causing fear, while running into others knocking them to the ground. Some of the juveniles then began fighting and throwing fireworks into the crowd attending the event.
Chavis says three juveniles were detained by officers and later released to their parents.
There were no reports of actual gunshots or any evidence of a shooting found, according to Chavis.
One person did report they received a hand injury from the fireworks thrown into the crowd.
Chavis released the following statement about the incident:
“We take the safety of our public very seriously. Our goal is for everyone to have a fun and safe time while attending events like Red, White, and Boom.
It’s saddening when juveniles, who are unsupervised and unaccompanied create a dangerous environment for everyone, including themselves, at an event that had been peaceful and enjoyable.
We are currently investigating to identify who was responsible for throwing fireworks to hold them accountable.
We want to assure everyone one who lives, works, and visits Rock Hill, we will work to make sure they can do so without concern.
Parents and guardians must know where their children are, who they are with, and be responsible for their supervision.”
The incident is under investigation and those involved could face charges, Chavis says.
