See the update at the bottom of Page 2 upping the number of arrests downtown during the U.S. Open of Surfing's opening weekend.
ORIGINAL POST, JULY 28, 6:31 A.M.: It's unclear if a 16-year-old boy took our “Surf Bros Must Die” cover story literally, but Huntington Beach Police accuse him of making credible threats against the U.S. Open of Surfing via social media before a search of his home produced a handgun and a shotgun.
The alleged threats were posted Thursday, the kid was booked into juvie Friday night, the nine-day event opened Saturday morning and by Sunday night police had made more than 45 78 more arrests, mostly for booze-related offenses. [See update!]
But no riots. So far …
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Surf Bros Must Die: A special report on how to keep the U.S. Open of Surfing riot-free
According to Huntington Beach Police, they received word of the threats against the U.S. Open around noon Friday, and the initial information gathered made them seem credible. They aren't saying which social media platform the kid supposedly used, citing the ongoing investigation.
The 16-year-old, who has not been identified, was quickly zeroed in on, and his home was searched after a warrant was served around 7 p.m. Friday, according to police, who arrested the teen on suspicion of making terrorist threats.
He had access to the handgun and shotgun that were found at the residence, according to police, who seized his electronic devices as additional evidence. “At this time, it appears the suspect acted alone and no overt acts occurred to carry out the threats,” reads a police statement.
As for the 45 arrests, before we ponder what might give people the idea to come to downtown Huntington Beach and get into some alcohol-induced shenanigans let's pause for this from Hurricanes Bar and Grill, via social media as well (Facebook):
Yep, it's just a bloody mystery how anyone would come up with such an idea to booze it up downtown.
By the way, the City of Huntington Beach, its police department and U.S. Open organizers have already scheduled a community meeting Wednesday to discuss progress at keeping this year's event riot-free. Downtown merchants are encouraged to point out any problems they have seen so far.
See the invite on the next page …
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UPDATE, JULY 28, 8:37 A.M.: Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Kevin Johnson reports cops in cars, on horseback and on foot made 39 arrests Saturday and 39 more Sunday downtown and in the pier area.
The 78 arrests were for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, Johnson told City News Service.
The U.S. Open of Surfing continues through Sunday.
Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.