The noise that spooked spring breakers at Daytona Beach and caused a massive stampede over the weekend was not gunshots, the sheriff revealed Monday.
The panic-causing sound had a much more mundane origin: people crushing water bottles.
Beachgoers scrambled on the beach Monday, believing gunshots had been fired. TikTok/wayofkaywil
Cops explained what caused the chaos at the spring break spot. TikTok/romandelangel4“There were zero gunshots on the beach,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Monday after video showing hundreds of terrified beachgoers fleeing for their lives went viral.
Chitwood added that there were 50 deputies in the crowd.
“This incident was, clearly, social media-driven. ‘Let’s all go and invade Daytona.’ And there isn’t a whole lot more we can do other than what we did,” Chitwood said.
More than 80 arrests were made at Daytona Beach over the weekend, including six in which weapons were seized. Chitwood said many were for open alcohol container violations.
However, none of the firearms arrests were made on the beach, Chitwood said, noting, “Everyone can carry a gun in Florida.” He highlighted one adult and one juvenile cuffed in separate instances, both for illegally possessing firearms.
Chitwood added that seven illegal aliens were also arrested in the roundup.
Four shootings were reported in the city since Friday, but none of them were the cause of the chaos.
Chitwood said all of the spring breakers taken into custody in the wake of the weekend rush were “absolutely polite and understood why they were being arrested.”
Cities dotted along the Florida coasts are a hotspot for raucous spring break trips. In recent years, Miami and Fort Lauderdale mandated curfews to curb the chaos, sending college students packing farther north to cities like Daytona Beach.
The college kids come prepared with fake IDs and suitcases full of booze for the weekend of their lives.
Some roll up to the beach with BORGs — blackout rage gallons — while others covertly sip on hard seltzers.
Flashy sororities and fraternities bankrolled by students’ well-to-do parents typically flock to the same places for spring break. Many likely pivoted to Florida after cartel violence turned the Mexican state of Jalisco, home to dream destinations like Puerto Vallarta, into a certified war zone.
