HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico plans to change the rules and add security to public events after multiple fights broke out and a gun was recovered at the county's annual July 4th fireworks show at Dorey Park, Police Chief Eric English announced.
"We got to take some further steps to make sure these events are much safer," English said.
On Friday, July 3, police responded to multiple fights at the fireworks show. The night ended with one teen in custody after a gun was found on him, police said.
"Even before the fireworks began there was a fight that broke out amongst some juvenile females," English said. "The second time, right when the fireworks went off, there was a fight that broke out... and a firearm was recovered off of one of the juveniles that was involved in the fight."
Watch: Chief English talks about July 4 fights and gun arrest
English says the violent disruptions appear to be increasing and often involve middle school students.
"What we've seen over the past few weeks is a lot of juveniles attending these events unsupervised, not really there for the actual event, but just as a hangout place and it leads to disruption," he said.
English says new safety measures are being developed through a collaborative effort between police, parks and recreation, and the county attorney's office, with plans expected to be finalized within the next few weeks.
"We're going to come up with a plan in the next few weeks here to ensure that these events that are really nice events in our parks that people have a really good time and they feel safe," he said.
English pointed to measures already used at high school football games as possible models.
"In high school football games, you couldn't get into the game unless you had a parent that escorted you to the game," he said. "You come in with clear backpacks, [you're] being scanned, although it may take a little bit longer, it's gonna make the event a lot safer."
English says the goal is to protect those who attend events for the right reasons.
"We want to make sure that there's no opportunity for people to cause harm to the people that are really trying to enjoy these events," he said. "We're going to do everything we can to harden the target."
Anyone involved in a fight is banned from the park, English added, and police make every effort to contact the parents of all juveniles involved in fights.
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