Four DC teens as young as 14 years old and an 18 year old from Maryland were arrested late Saturday night for MPD referred to as ‘disorderly activity.’
WASHINGTON — DC Police said they arrested four underage teenagers and an 18-year-old in Navy Yard after hundreds of people crowded the streets Halloween night while reportedly brawling and blocking traffic.
National Guard troops, which have become a fixture in the waterside D.C. neighborhood, were among the law enforcement bodies that responded to the crowd. U.S. Capitol Police and Metro Transit Police also worked to break up what police referred to as “disorderly conduct” and direct traffic.
Video recorded by a neighbor Friday night shows National Guard soldiers working to break up the teens and the large gathering — the latest instance of what has become colloquially known as a “teen takeover” by many in the Navy Yard and select communities in D.C.
Police first reported seeing groups of teens converge on a park near the Navy Yard Metro Station between First Street and New Jersey Avenue at around 7:30 p.m. DC Police said that it wasn’t until about 11 p.m. that crowds were finally dispersed.
Among the five who were arrested, four were considered juveniles by police. Officers’ youngest suspects were 14 years old, both suspected of “failure to obey” and resisting arrest. All of the underage teens were from Washington, D.C. — with two from Southeast and another two from Southeast. An 18-year-old from Accokeek, Md. — a community in Prince George’s County — was booked for carrying a knife.
Most arrests were related to fighting or disobeying police, although a 16-year-old from Southwest DC was booked for smoking weed.
Below is a list of those arrested by DC Police on Friday and their charges:
* An 18-year-old from Accokeek, Md. for “possession of a prohibited weapon (knife).”
* A 16-year-old boy from Southwest DC for “public consumption of marijuana”
* A 15-year-old boy from Southeast DC for “affray” — fighting
* A 14-year-old boy from Southeast DC for “failure to obey” and “resisting arrest.”
* A 14-year-old boy from Southwest DC for “failure to obey” and “resisting arrest.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser introduced emergency legislation in May featuring stricter curfew laws to address teen takeovers like the one on Friday night.
“We have seen some concerning trends with how our young people are socializing,” Bowser said in May. “Those changes in behavior also require us to change our posture.”
Still, throughout the summer, teens were repeatedly arrested in Navy Yard. On Fourth of July weekend, 18 people — 16 of whom were underage — were arrested in the neighborhood, most of them for lighting illegal fireworks.