In a swift turn of events, a Florida mother managed to locate her 16-year-old son, suspected in a shooting incident, and persuaded him to surrender within just half an hour. This incident occurred after a tumultuous ‘teen takeover’ left another teenager with three gunshot wounds.
The chaos erupted on Sunday evening when a large group of teenagers gathered at Clearwater Beach for a ‘linkup.’ By Monday evening, police had apprehended 16-year-old Noel Marsh III in Haines City.
“We found his mother, and she did what was right,” stated Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
The sheriff elaborated, “She promised, ‘He’ll turn himself in as soon as I find him.’ True to her word, about 30 minutes later, his grandmother arrived, dropped him off, and we took him into custody.”
The shooting, which occurred shortly after 5 p.m., resulted in a 17-year-old being shot in the arm, leg, and chest. Marsh now faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, according to police reports.
Authorities allege that Marsh discharged the firearm approximately seven times during the incident.
The teenager was identified as a suspect after multiple people were detained by police after the shooting. According to police, the teen’s mother tracked her son down after law enforcement approached her.
‘He is very, very dangerous,’ Judd added. ‘And the irony of it, when we looked into his social media, he was throwing gang signs and trying to be cool, but we don’t see any other evidence that he’s a member of a gang.’
Noel Marsh III, 16, was taken into custody in Haines City on Monday evening after his mother tracked her son down after hundreds of teenagers flooded Clearwater Beach on Sunday evening for a ‘linkup’
Police said that Marsh’s mother tracked her son down after they approached her, and he was delivered by his grandmother 30 minutes later on Monday evening
The chaotic shooting just after 5pm left a 17-year-old shot in the arm, leg and chest allegedly by Marsh who has been charged with attempted second degree murder
Judd added that Marsh didn’t have a ‘significant’ criminal history.
A ‘dispute’ between two groups of teenagers had begun around a month ago in Winter Haven, leading to a fight that took place before Marsh opened fire, according to Clearwater Police Department’s Deputy Chief Michael Walek.
‘Investigators learned from the victim that the dispute largely stems from social media and party related rivalries,’ Walek said.
The scene at the beach was the result of a ‘teen takeover,’ police said.
‘The organizer of this linkup, as it was titled, urged people to bring umbrellas, water, not alcohol and no guns. The flyer also mentioned, “No unsupervised minors”,’ Walek continued.
‘This event escalated quickly. I want to be crystal clear about one thing. This kind of reckless and criminal behavior will not be tolerated on Clearwater Beach or anywhere in our city. You will not come to our city, take it over or mess around.’
Janette Walker, a local beach resident, told Fox 13 that she and her daughter were in the area and saw the teen after the shooting.
‘I told my daughter, “Oh my god, that boy was shot. They have towels on his stomach, and they could see blood coming through, and it looked like he got shot in the stomach,’ Walker said.
Clearwater Police Department’s Deputy Chief Michael Walek gave a stern warning that any ‘reckless or criminal behavior’ won’t be tolerated and added: ‘You will not come to our city, take it over or mess around’
A ‘dispute’ between two groups of teenagers had begun around a month ago in Winter Haven, leading to a fight that took place before Marsh opened fire
Dylan Gilbert also told the outlet that he heard the gunfire erupt.
‘I heard probably what I figured 6 or 7 gunshots,’ Gilbert said. ‘I was like what’s going on.’
According to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, attendees of the ‘takeover’ were from outside of the city.
‘They do need to be responsible for these kids. These are kids who are 14, 15, 16 years old, a lot of them came over here by Uber,’ he continued.
‘If there is an opportunity for us to hold the parents responsible, we’re going to do it. I’m not going to tell you it’s easy, and making those cases against the parents and doing those things that are necessary to establish some sort of crime, you know, it’s not easy. I’ll acknowledge that.
‘But if there’s an opportunity to do [it], we’ll do it under the right circumstances. And unfortunately, too, this is a sad reality of it, is that a lot of these kids don’t have parents.’
Walker said the takeover ‘crisis’ has plagued the area for years, and called for a major ‘crack down’ to control them.
‘These take overs are ruining it for the people who work down here [and] are trying to make a living. Everybody we heard from today are p***ed off,’ she told the outlet.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said that attendees of the ‘takeover’ were from outside of the city, and called for parents to be responsible for their children
Since December last year, the CPD threat management unit identified 11 takeover events and were able to thwart at least nine.
‘Clearwater Beach has been and remains a safe and family place to visit. People come from all over the world to enjoy our beautiful beaches. We will not allow outsiders to come in and ruin our reputation,’ Walek said.
Marsh was booked into Polk County Jail on charges of attempted second-degree murder, discharging a firearm in public and unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor.
According to Walek, Marsh refused to talk to detectives.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, the Clearwater Police Department and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
‘Teen takeovers’ have been rocking cities across the country, as increased disturbances and violence have left many locals calling for extreme measures.
Just last month, a ritzy neighborhood in Washington DC was upended by a group of teenagers throwing punches and chairs in a Chipotle as a young family sheltered.
Ken Ledet, a local, told WJLA that similar kinds of mayhem have been a common sight in DC as of late.
A teenager, seen in a blue surgical mask with his hood over his head, was seen lifting a wooden high chair over his head and slamming it on another teen at a Chipotle in Washington DC
A similar teenage takeover took place just before the new year, resulting in five being arrested after getting into a violent clash with the National Guard in Washington, DC
‘It’s not shocking anymore, since this has become routine on Saturdays and Friday nights, but it’s disappointing to know this is still happening,’ he told the outlet.
‘I actually come to this Chipotle at least three or four times a week, so thankfully I didn’t come here last night.’
The violent scenes came just a day after US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that the parents of teenagers involved in such violence would also be prosecuted.
The DC Council also approved a law for a permanent curfew, which would not go into effect until the summer.
The month before, DC’s Navy Yard also descended into chaos after a huge group of teens were videoed sprinting down the roadway.
Investigator Elissa De Souza, who posted a video of the chaos, said: ‘What should’ve been a great night out in Navy Yard turned into something we’re seeing far too often.’
‘Sitting at dinner at Takumi [one of the newest additions to the neighborhood] this was the view: chaos spilling into the streets, fights breaking out, and large groups of teens running through the area after yet another reckless event at the Bullpen,’ she added.
The teenagers were peaceful at first, but as the night progressed, the ‘group began engaging in fights and disrupting the flow of traffic, repeatedly ignoring instructions to remain on the sidewalks.’
