Shocking moment mass brawl breaks out between huge group of high schoolers on popular New York vacation beach
Around three hundred teenagers had gathered on Jones Beach, on Thursday afternoon when the fighting kicked off.
Officials told News12 Long Island the gathering was an unsanctioned 'Senior Cut Day' in Nassau County and Queens County.
Footage shared to social media shows a police helicopter hovering low over the crowds.
Revelers were seen running back to the nearby boardwalk due to the sand being kicked up by the blades of the chopper.
Some students who spoke with the outlet said that several fights broke out during the large gathering.
One said: 'Everybody started fighting cause there was a lot of people, there was like three different fights.'
In another video taken from the main road leading to the popular beach spot, dozens of police cars and ambulances can be seen parked up outside of the entrance.
According to authorities who moved in to disperse the large crowds, there were four minor injuries due to the fighting.
In a statement, Nassau County Police said: 'The Nassau County Police Department responded with a significant amount of resources including the Emergency Services Unit (ESU), Bureau of Special Operations (BSO) and Aviation Unit.
'The crowd eventually dispersed. There were four minor injuries as a result of fights, those individuals were all treated at scene and refused further medical attention.'
Officers also said that while at the scene they were approached by a man who lifted his shirt to display the handle of what appeared to be a firearm in his waistband.
The gun turned out to be fake, cops said, as they arrested and charged 18-year-old Kyle Thomas with menacing and disorderly conduct over the incident.
Despite the large scale disruption, state park officials said the beach would be open as usual on Friday.
News12 also reported that a beach in Long Island was preemptively closed last week to prevent a similar 'senior cut day' from happening on the sand.
Nearby resident Naydelin Moreno told the outlet: 'This is crazy, everything is out of control and there should be some kind of punishment.'
Officials said they would continue to monitor social media to track any other potential gatherings.
In June of last year a 16-year-old was shot near a train station in Long Beach during a skip day that saw over 2,000 students on the beach.
Speaking after the shooting, City Manager Daniel Creighton said the incident had spawned new rules on the beach.
Beach passes would be required, with unpermitted gatherings for groups of over 100 people being made illegal, Creighton said back then.
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