The incident occurred on New Smyrna Beach on Thursday, with bystanders fleeing in terror, shouting, "He's got a gun. He's got a gun."
A deputy from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office promptly intervened, commanding the armed teenager to relinquish his weapon. The suspect, captured in bodycam footage, can be seen fleeing from the officer, who relentlessly pursued him through the beach, repeatedly ordering him to drop the gun. Additional law enforcement officers joined the chase, managing the crowd of spring breakers.
The armed teenager, later identified as 16-year-old Felixander Solis-Guzman, retreated into knee-deep water, where he remained for several minutes. Law enforcement officers, with their weapons drawn, lined the beach, as depicted in the bodycam footage.
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Eventually, Guzman discarded his firearm in the water. As officers moved in to apprehend him, the deputy instructed them to maintain distance in case Guzman was carrying another weapon. The standoff, which lasted for a tense five minutes, concluded with the arrival of backup. Guzman surrendered peacefully, raising his hands in compliance with the officers' commands.
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Upon searching the area, deputies discovered the discarded firearm and a bag containing 20 small plastic baggies of marijuana, as reported by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
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The bodycam footage also captured the large crowd of sunbathers on New Smyrna Beach, a coastal city in Florida located approximately 15 miles south of Daytona Beach, a favored spring break destination.
Guzman was subsequently arrested and charged with multiple offenses, including three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a person under 18, improper exhibition of a firearm, commission of a second-degree felony with a weapon, resisting law enforcement, two counts of tampering with evidence, and sale of marijuana. Additionally, Guzman had seven active no-bond warrants from Orange County, including robbery with a firearm and violation of probation.
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Spring break has historically been a contentious issue in Florida, particularly in Miami Beach and South Florida, where temperatures have soared above 100 degrees over the past two weeks.
Before the annual festivities commenced, officials in Miami Beach took stringent measures to prevent the chaos that ensued last year, when two people were fatally shot, and police made 500 arrests, including 230 felony arrests, and confiscated 105 guns.
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This year, the celebrations shifted to Fort Lauderdale, which experienced an unusually busy first weekend. However, officials reported a "successful" first weekend to Fox News Digital.
The real challenge begins this weekend, coinciding with St. Patrick's Day, a popular party day. "Our spring break crowds have been as expected so far this year, with this week being the busiest week we are anticipating," Casey Liening, spokesperson for the Fort Lauderdale police, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced last week that over 140 state troopers, along with other state resources, had been deployed to South Florida in an "unprecedented" pre-emptive strike against spring break crime. The plan includes sending 60 state troopers to reinforce communities throughout South Florida, with a high concentration in Miami Beach. An additional 60 troopers will be mobilized in hotspots like Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach, and 24 quick-response troopers will be deployed in Bay, Volusia, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties for immediate incidents.
"This is really unprecedented," DeSantis said during a March 5 press conference. "I don't think we've ever seen the state come in this forward-leaning going into a season like this."
"With all things considered, I think that we're good and prepared as we've ever been throughout my time in the state of Florida," he added.
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