22 May 2023 , 14:25
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A boozy beach party descended into chaos at the weekend with a reported shooting, a serious crash and more than 200 arrests being made.
The beach party took place at Crystal Beach in Galveston but it quickly got out of hand.
Over the rowdy weekend, a car crashed under unknown circumstances and a woman was thrown from the vehicle suffering a serious head injury.
Another incident involved an armed robbery on the beach, where a gunman allegedly approached a beachgoer and demanded their wallet with a weapon.
Two people were reportedly shot during the party, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries overnight, according to the police.
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The Galveston County Sheriff's Office also reported a critical auto-pedestrian accident that resulted in severe injuries.
Local police have often said that the event as busy as a public holiday with 120 officer assigned to the event (Instagram)
Despite these incidents, the Sheriff's Office considers the event a success overall (Instagram)Overall, dozens were taken to hospital and a total of 234 arrests were made from Friday until Sunday afternoon.
Police announced that only on Friday, a total of 155 people were arrested and nearly 200 charges were filed.
Most of them were for minor offences like misbehaving and being drunk in public, according to the police.
Another 80 partygoers were arrested on Saturday and Sunday, and 283 charges were filed in total.
A total of 155 arrests were made on Friday with almost 200 charges filed (Instagram)Out of the 234, 221 were charged with minor offences, while 13 faced more serious charges.
Despite these incidents, the Sheriff's Office considers the event a "success" overall because they had extra officers to prevent any unruly behaviour that typically occurs during this annual event.
Major Ray Nolan from the Galveston Co. Sheriff's Office Criminal Law Enforcement Bureau stated that they had a similar number of arrests as last year and they believe they have "good handle" on the overall safety of the event.
The Sheriff's Office is investigating two particular incidents, including a major crash (Instagram)Mr Nolan said on Saturday: "We feel like we're we got a pretty good handle on the overall safety of it.
"And we're just trying to get through today and tomorrow and get everybody home safe."
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Days before the event takes place every year, police brace themselves for the rowdy nature of the event that leads to numerous alcohol-induced incidents, requiring intervention to maintain order.
The excessive consumption of alcohol often leads to unruly behaviour and disruptions.
The party is an unorganized gathering that takes place in Crystal Beach, Texas (Instagram)In 2022, a police officer was hit by a suspected drunk driver while he was responding to a minor crash.
Sgt. John Hamm was hospitalised with multiple injuries, including two broken legs, an arm injury, and a head injury.
Hundreds of people were also arrested in 2022, while in both 2019 and 2021, a person died in separate incidents.