Dozens of arrests made, guns seized during College Beach Weekend at the Oceanfront
VIRGINIA BEACH — Police arrested 53 people, responded to multiple 'shots fired' incidents, and seized dozens of weapons at the Oceanfront this past weekend after thousands of young people descended on the resort area for the annual College Beach Weekend, according to the department.
The number of arrests was more than double the amount made during last year's Fourth of July weekend, when 23 people were arrested, according to data provided by police.
Men in their late teens and early 20s made up for the majority of those arrested this past weekend, the data showed. The youngest person taken into custody was a 14-year-old Virginia Beach boy charged with drug possession, and the oldest was a 53-year-old man cited for public intoxication, the data showed.
Most of the issued charges were for crimes like carrying a concealed weapon, drug possession, assault, fleeing from law enforcement, disorderly conduct, drunken driving and public intoxication, according to the data.
Of the 53, police provided detailed information for 38 of them. The data showed that a little more than half were from Hampton Roads. Eleven came from other parts of the state, three were from out of state, and four had unknown addresses. Only three were female.
Police said they also confiscated at least 28 guns.
'Unfortunately, not all that visited the Oceanfront area this past weekend came to have a good time; many came with criminal aspirations,' police said in a statement issued late Monday. 'In addition to dealing with large crowds of teens and young adults, VBPD officers responded to several shots fired and shooting-related offenses during the weekend, including ShotSpotter activations and a person shot in the 1400 block of Pacific Avenue on Sunday morning.'
College Beach Weekend has long been known to result in occasional violence and numerous arrests as students from nearby historically Black colleges and universities flock to the area for a few days before final exams begin.
In 2019, Virginia Beach native and music mogul Pharrell Williams hosted a weekend-long, star-studded music festival created in part to keep the College Beach Weekend crowds entertained and out of trouble. The hugely successful festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID, then moved to Washington D.C. in 2022. It came back to Virginia Beach in 2023, but was hampered by bad weather.
The festival was expected to be held again this past weekend, but city officials cancelled their contract with organizers earlier this year after they missed multiple deadlines. Instead, they lined up some R&B and hip-hop music acts that performed Friday and Saturday.
Virginia Beach police spokesman Ricky LaBlue said the department had an enhanced presence at the Oceanfront. Virginia Beach mayor Bobby Dyer said Tuesday he was pleased with the work done by police, especially in rounding up so many guns.
'The good news is they're getting them off the street,' Dyer said about the firearms. 'We have a police force that's doing its job.'
When asked whether Williams could try to bring Something in the Water back to Virginia Beach next year, Dyer didn't rule it out.
'We'll have an open door, but they've got to play by the rules,' he said. 'We gave them every conceivable chance.'
Staff Writer Stacy Parker contributed to this report.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
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