Teenager shot dead during “Senior Skip Day” in New York; beach restrictions in place

LONG BEACH, NY (PIX11) — After a 16-year-old was shot and killed on Long Island on what was apparently a school-free day attended by thousands of students, two teenagers are in custody and the one of them is accused of a list of crimes.

The shooting, which occurred after thousands of teenagers filled Long Beach and its boardwalk, also prompted a notable change in city policy: The beach is now restricted to beach pass holders only. This means only local residents or people who pay a $15 per day fee for a pass will be allowed to access the beach. The restriction is daily. It's usually weekends and holidays only, until June 27. The crowds and shootings on Thursday changed the situation.

“When you see swarms of kids coming,” said Andrew Alcina, a Long Beach resident, “it’s definitely a concern.”

The situation was apparently the result of social media posts calling on children in various towns on Long Island and parts of Queens to organize a so-called senior jump day from school to the beach.

Video recorded by residents shows more than 2,000 young people crowded onto the beach near the Edwards Boulevard entrance. Other videos showed students twerking on top of a vehicle belonging to one of the three police departments on site. As the crowd grew Thursday, the Long Beach Police Department called for mutual aid from the Nassau County Police Department and the MTA.

Local residents, like Brian Beck, said missed school days have been happening every year for at least three years.

“There are always big parties on the beach,” Beck said. “Long Beach police called Nassau County,” and once police started ordering the youths to leave, he said, “everyone ran off the beach, causing further no more chaos.”

Witnesses said this is what happened when shots were fired at a shopping center six blocks from the beach, near the LIRR station, as well as at the station itself .

A 16-year-old boy was shot in the torso and two people are in police custody. One of them, aged 15, is accused of attempted assault, inadvertent endangerment, criminal use of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm and possession illegal use of a large capacity ammunition.