Stretch of popular Panama City Beach area closing after shooting
Panama City Beach has announced a temporary nighttime closure for the weekend.
The area between Beach Access 25 and Beach Access 36 will be closed from 10 p.m to 5 a.m. tonight due to “recent incidents that occurred in the area,” according to the city government. The closures first began Friday.
According to local news outlets, there was a shooting in the area on Wednesday night behind Pineapple Willy’s, an oceanfront seafood restaurant.
“It’s ridiculous that we had a shooting,” Deputy Chief of Panama City Beach John Deegins told 13 ABC.“There was about 50 kids on the beach when this happened, and they’re doing Oklahoma drills, and that’s where they run at each other and tackle one another. That ended up in and argument and fight which resulted in somebody firing a gun off.”
Deegins told the news station that public safety was their number one goal.
“We want to make sure that everybody’s safe and the past few weeks, months, we’ve just seen an increase of, you know, I guess the unruly behavior of these kids. And for whatever reason, they go from, you know, a fistfight or Oklahoma drills to somebody shooting a gun.”
The city council previously set nighttime closures earlier this year during spring break, saying the decision “is supported by police data and strong support from businesses in the area.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.