15-year-old arrested in Long Beach shooting that injured another teen. What the city is doing to improve safety

LONG BEACH, NY — A 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection with shooting in Long Beach that injured another teen Thursday.

Now the city is making changes to ensure a safe summer.

'Senior Captains Day' on Long Island ends in gunfire, police say

In one video, sounds of gunshots and screams can be heard before people start running. The unrest occurred just days before school officially let out for the summer.

Police said it all happened on a “senior day” as a crowd of more than 2,000 high school students from Long Island and Queens gathered on the beach and boardwalk.

“It was announced on social media,” said Long Beach Acting Police Commissioner Richard DePalma. “When you have a large group like this, it can go from calm to chaos in seconds.”

Police say around 7 p.m., it did.

“Disorderly groups within this group resulted in fighting,” DePalma said.

When authorities tried to break up the unauthorized event, they said the crowd moved toward the nearby Long Island Rail Road station, where gunshots rang out.

Police said a 16-year-old boy was shot in the stomach. He is currently recovering at a local hospital.

Police say a 15-year-old boy was arrested for his role in the shooting. He faces a long list of charges, including attempted assault and inadvertent endangerment.

Police say they have obtained numerous surveillance videos, which they are still reviewing. The investigation is ongoing.

Long Beach leaders aim to make the beach safer

Long Beach city leaders sent a stern message Friday.

“If you come to Long Beach to cause chaos, we will not tolerate it,” said City Council President Brendan Finn.

Leaders are proposing ways to make the beach safer, including starting the season almost two weeks earlier.

“Effective immediately, by emergency order, I declare that the 2024 beach season begins today,” said City Manager Daniel Creighton.

This means that workers will ensure that everyone on the beach pays a day pass, that the beach will only be open from dawn to dusk, and that unauthorized gatherings of groups of more than 100 people will not be allowed. not allowed.

“The Council will also grant me, as city manager, the authority to order the police department to close the beach at any time,” Creighton said.

Residents hope the additional enforcement measures will work.

“When swarms of kids come in, it’s really concerning,” resident Andrew Alcina said.

“The problem yesterday was that it was easy to get to the beach,” said resident Pricilla Cippolini.