Panama City Beach Police say they seized enough guns to “arm a small army” over the weekend.
Law enforcement officials in Panama City Beach in northwestern Florida – a popular Spring Break destination – announced on Monday that they seized 75 weapons and detained 161 people on Saturday and Sunday, referring to the suspects as “pathetic cowards”.
Beach Police Chief JR Talamantez said the guns “were taken over a period of two days”.
“It could arm a small army. Semiautomatic weapons, long rifles – these are weapons brought to a resort destination. These are weapons brought to a beach,” he added, according to the Panama City News Herald.
As violence increased in the area over the weekend, a shooting on Sunday led to one person being injured.
Mr Talamantez said those found to be breaking the law “will soon find out what justice looks like in Bay County”.
“Right here, today, we stand united as not only law enforcement officials, not only as city leadership or county leadership, but just as citizens of Bay County,” he said. “What we saw this past weekend is absolutely unacceptable, period. These pathetic cowards who came and committed these crimes — their actions will not be tolerated.”
Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said on Monday that almost 80 of the 161 arrested individuals were from Alabama.
“We were faced with dangerous circumstances but stood firm in protecting our county,” Mr Ford said. “Each one of these 75 firearms ... represents a violent encounter with law enforcement, and I’m so proud of the law enforcement officers who stood in that gap [between] citizens and the criminals who were carrying these guns.”
He said law enforcement had prepared for this weekend for weeks, expecting a large number of visitors.
“We will not tolerate this criminal activity,” Mr Ford said. “These are behaviours that we as a community have fought before, won and moved on to become a premier family destination ... If you come here to act like a criminal, we’ll treat you like one.”
Panama City Police Chief Mark Smith said the people responsible for violence and vandalism over the weekend were not regular spring breakers but “true criminals”.
“Every time one of our brave officers confronted these 75 individuals, it was an opportunity for that brave officer to have lost [their] life or been forced to take someone else’s life,” Mr Smith said. “This is not what Bay County is about, not what Panama City Beach is about.”
“This isn’t what we want coming to our city,” he added. “We want the spring breakers. We want the tourists, we don’t want this element.”
Police added that a number of incidents of violence against officers and vandalism against businesses occurred over the weekend.
WMBB reported that a Walmart in the area was left in chaos with items strewn across the floor. Mr Talamantez said the shop was one of several establishments that closed early this weekend.
Both residents and visitors struggled in the city’s overcrowded streets.
“We were getting run over by people,” Ladariya Gurley, a visitor, told WFLA. “They were pushing us.”
An officer received a cut to the head after having a beer bottle thrown at him.
“These are the type of individuals that we’re facing. Throwing beer bottles at police officers. Shooting right down the road,” Mr Smith said. “There were blue lights up and down the road as these shootings took place.”
“The blatant disregard for public safety that these individuals are having will not be tolerated,” he added.
