Words by Teresa Spencer
On a sweltering July evening, the Southbank Riverwalk should have been winding down into its usual twilight calm. Instead, the promenade erupted into a scene that felt closer to a flash riot. Hundreds of teenagers, some estimates say 600 to 700, spilled across the waterfront near Friendship Fountain. Arguments turned to fistfights. Police deployed pepper spray. At one point, officers chased down a teenager with a gun in his backpack. Bridges had to be closed to contain the crowd.
Jacksonville had just experienced its largest “teen takeover.” And it wouldn’t be the last…