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Opening day at Six Flags Over Georgia turned into mayhem after 500 or 600 teens started brawling. A smaller group of teens allegedly started shooting at cops. (WAGA/YouTube)
Police got into a shootout with several teenagers just outside a Six Flags on Saturday night, injuring a 15-year-old boy.
It happened just after 6 p.m. at the Six Flags Over Georgia in Cobb County. Authorities say about 500 or 600 teenagers began running through the park and brawling near the entrance. Security and Cobb County Police began clearing out the park when a group of teenagers fired shots at cops on a street just outside park property, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a press release. No officers were hit but a bullet struck an unoccupied Cobb County police car.
Officers identified the shots as coming from a wooded area nearby and one cop fired back, striking a 15-year-old boy, authorities said. Cops said they found a gun nearby. Paramedics took the boy to the hospital where he is listed in critical condition. The shots sent people scrambling and many of the teens were picked up by their parents at a nearby Wendy’s. Several videos that showed the chaos and mayhem were posted to social media.
Tiasione Justice lives nearby and talked to local Fox affiliate WAGA.
“It was a real big group of kids. I never seen a group of kids like that outside of high school, you know?” Justice said. “Parents just need to control their kids better, probably, or step in and make sure their kids are doing what they need to be doing.”
It’s not clear if police arrested anyone.
These Six Flags video from last night are crazypic.twitter.com/smEIDPe3p7
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) March 3, 2024
Six Flags released a statement to the media calling the incident disappointing.
Our goal is to provide safe, fun entertainment. We employ state of the art security systems and metal detection, maintain a robust and vigilant Public Safety Department, and have strong support from Cobb County Police who are present both inside and outside the park. Every guest is expected to follow our strict code of conduct and anyone unwilling to follow that code of conduct is unwelcome.
It is incredibly disappointing that our community is disrupted at public events throughout the region by groups of underaged youth. Just like other venues in the area, we are committed to keeping this type of trouble outside our park and off our property. There was police activity involving gunshots; we want to confirm there was no shooting at our property or parking lot. This took place on South Service Road that is not owned or operated by Six Flags. However, we join our community and the Atlanta region in our commitment to safety and security. We won’t put up with that type of activity here.
There were also brawls at last year’s opening day, WAGA reported.
GBI will investigate Saturday night’s shooting and turn in its findings to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office for review.
