broad day shooting near Panama City Beach

 

Panama City Beach cops seize enough weapons to 'arm a small army' from rowdy spring breakers over the weekend and arrest 160 people as Florida continues to reel from out-of-control college partying

Florida police seized enough guns from rowdy spring breakers to supply a 'small army' amidst a weekend a violence.

Police in Panama City Beach, a popular party destination for college students, confiscated 75 illegal guns and arrested more than 160 'pathetic cowards' over the weekend, officials announced during a press conference Monday.

'These guns were taken over a period of two days,' Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said, the Panama City News Herald reported. '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.'

The beach town also saw an uptick in violence over the weekend, including a Sunday shooting that left one person injured.

Talamantez, on Monday, warned that the criminals plaguing Florida's beaches 'will soon find out what justice looks like.'

'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,' Talamantez 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.'

The chaos comes as Miami Beach was forced to impose a 6pm curfew on weekends to shoo away the roaming packs of Spring Breakers wreaking havoc on the South Florida city.

Despite the number of weapons seized in Panama City, police said only one shooting was reported over the weekend.

An unnamed 21-year-old from Alabama was shot in the foot around 4.30pm Sunday near a local Waffle House restaurant, WVTM reported. The young adult sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Six people, including accused gunman Javonte Sanders, are currently in custody in connection to the shooting.

Police allege Sanders, 22, of Cropwell, Alabama, discharged the weapon that struck the victim. He is being held on gun-related charges and the shooting is still under investigation.

Talamantez told the TV station officers initially responded to the area after they found several people with guns, including automatic weapons.

Police recovered 26 shell casings at the scene from three different weapons - a 9mm, .40 caliber and a .45 caliber.

Authorities did not indicate which gun was allegedly fired by Sanders.

During Monday's press conference, Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford revealed that of 161 individuals arrested on Saturday and Sunday, 80 were from Alabama.

Panama City Police Chief Mark Smith argued the criminals responsible for the weekend chaos were not traditional spring breakers, but instead '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,' Smith said. 'This is not what Bay County is about, not what Panama City Beach is about.'

He added: 'This isn't what we want coming to our city. We want the spring breakers. We want the tourists, but we don't want this criminal element.'

Ford echoed Smith's remarks, saying: 'We were faced with dangerous circumstances but stood firm in protecting our county.'

'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.'

Police also described incidents of violence towards officers and local businesses.

Video from inside an area Walmart and obtained by WMBB shows the store aisles in complete disarray. Merchandise, including hats and sunscreen, were knocked off the shelves and scattered across the floor.

Talamantez confirmed Monday that Walmart was one of numerous businesses that closed early over the weekend.

Massive crowds flooded the city's streets, making it hard for residents and visitors to navigate the area.

'We were getting run over by people,' visitor Ladariya Gurley told WFLA. 'They were pushing us.'

One officer suffered a cut to his head and received medical treatment after a crowd member threw a beer bottle at him.

'These are the type of individuals that we're facing. Throwing beer bottles at police officers. Shooting right down the road,' Smith said. 'There were blue lights up and down the road as these shootings took place.

He added: 'The blatant disregard for public safety that these individuals are having will not be tolerated.'