FOX 2 - Dearborn Heights police and city leaders say an attempted teen takeover at its Spirit Festival was halted, leading to the event being shut down early.
The backstory:
Chaotic social media videos surfaced Saturday showing large groups of teens running through, and from the event at the Canfield Community Center with a massive police response.
"Last night, a group of teens attempted to take over Spirit Festival, one of Dearborn Heights’ oldest community and family-oriented traditions. They picked the wrong city," said a statement from the city.
In a message posted to both the Dearborn Heights City and police social media pages, said that arrests were made, and the situation was contained.
"The Dearborn Heights Police Department responded immediately, shutting the situation down before it could escalate," the statement read. "Multiple arrests were made, additional individuals were detained, and officers moved quickly to clear the area and protect families on scene."
Teen takeovers with coordinated efforts through social media targeted downtown city centers or events have been occurring across the country. The large numbers can become overwhelming leading to fights, blocking traffic or other forms of public disruption.
The city also issued a stern message to parents of the teens responsible - "Know where your children are and what they are doing. The families at Spirit Festival came to enjoy a safe community event, and we need parents to do their part to keep it that way."
The city statement issued a thank you to first responders as well as mutual aid from other agencies including Dearborn Heights police and fire departments, Michigan State Police, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Dearborn police, Inkster police, Wayne police, Westland police, University of Michigan police and the Western Wayne HazMat Team.
"We do not tolerate this behavior in Dearborn Heights," said Police Chief Michael Guzowski. "My officers were on top of this from the first moment, and we will continue to respond with the same speed and force every time."
The Source: Information for this report is from the Dearborn Heights city and police Facebook pages.