Raleigh Considers Curfew After Thousands of Teens Celebrate Independence Day by Terrorizing the City

RALEIGH, N.C. — While millions of Americans spent the Fourth of July grilling burgers, watching fireworks and pretending sparklers aren’t dangerous…

Several thousand teenagers in Raleigh apparently celebrated by staging what has become known as a “teen takeover.”

Officials estimate roughly 10,000 teenagers flooded two popular entertainment districts, including Brier Creek and Glenwood South, after coordinating the gatherings on social media.

Because, naturally, when you invite 10,000 teenagers to the same place at the same time…

…good decisions tend to follow.

Instead, large fights erupted, businesses locked their doors, gunfire broke out repeatedly, and by the time the evening finally wound down, nine people had been shot in separate incidents.

Fortunately, police say all of the shooting victims are expected to survive.

Several businesses closed early—not because they suddenly lost interest in making money on one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year—but because employees generally prefer not to dodge flying glass and stray bullets while serving customers.

Milk Bar, one of the affected businesses, said it experienced no problems inside its establishment but chose to shut down anyway because the chaos outside was becoming impossible to ignore.

Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell now says she’s considering imposing a curfew for anyone 17 years old and younger, joining several other North Carolina cities that have already adopted similar restrictions.

City officials also say they want to better understand the root causes behind these increasingly common “teen takeovers,” a nationwide trend in which thousands of young people coordinate through social media to descend on malls, beaches, shopping districts and entertainment areas.

Some gatherings amount to little more than oversized parties.

Others…

…look more like auditions for the evening news.

Police responded to multiple incidents throughout the night, including fights outside a movie theater, several separate shootings and another confrontation at a gas station before sunrise.

Investigations continue, and so far no arrests have been announced in connection with most of the shootings.

Meanwhile, city leaders are preparing to discuss possible solutions.

Because apparently “Don’t gather 10,000 teenagers in one place after dark” wasn’t already listed under common sense.

Residents say they hope next year’s Independence Day celebration features more fireworks…

…and considerably fewer gunshots.