After a Hamtramck parking lot become chaotic on the Fourth of July with youths shooting fireworks at one another and clashing with law enforcement, police are identifying the suspects while the mayor is asking residents to act with more respect.
Videos that have surfaced online show unruly youths riding in shopping carts while firing Roman candles at one another, lighting fuses and throwing bottle rockets with their bare hands and igniting firecrackers as vehicles attempt to navigate the parking lot.
The disarray unfolded Saturday in the Hamtramck Town Center parking lot on Jos. Campau, where residents gathered to watch the city’s fireworks display.
In a video posted to the city’s Facebook page, officials said no one was hurt in the tumult.
Police said they have identified some of the culprits and are working to identify everyone seen behaving lawlessly in the online clips.
“They will be held responsible. Their actions caused other people to be in fear for their safety and we will not tolerate it in the city of Hamtramck,” police Chief Hussein Farhat said in the city’s video.
Police said many of the individuals seen in the clips were juveniles. Investigators are contacting their parents, who will be held responsible for their children’s actions, police said.
“We will aggressively go after the ones that violated the law and endangered the people that were out here,” Farhat said.
Mayor Adam Alharbi, in an online post about the incident, said police strategically contained the large crowd to the Town Center parking lot to prevent the incident from expanding into surrounding streets.
“I appreciate their efforts, but it’s clear we need a change. We all deserve to feel safe in our own neighborhood,” Alharbi said, calling the teens’ behavior “completely unacceptable.”
He called on Hamtramck residents to “hold each other to a higher standard and start acting with the respect and responsibility our community deserves.”
“Shooting fireworks toward people and cars isn’t just dangerous, it’s a serious problem that puts everyone at risk,” the mayor said. “… When people act this way, it ruins our reputation and paints a negative picture that just isn’t who we really are. We need to be better than that.”
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Hamtramck police tracking teens seen in chaotic fireworks videos
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Max Reinhart, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
