Watch moment police helicopter breaks up mass beach brawl between high school kids sending them scrambling
THIS is the jaw-dropping moment when a police chopper descended over a beach to break up brawling highschoolers.
Staggering footage shared on social media shows the helicopter flying low over a large crowd of youngsters on Jones Beach.
The dramatic scene took place during a high school senior skip day party on Thursday.
Groups of teens from several high schools across Nassau County and Queens were all crowded onto the beach.
But several fights broke out during the day, prompting a cop callout.
Police sent a chopper to the beach to disperse the groups of brawling teens.
Around 500 highschoolers were crowded onto the beach at the time of the incident, News 12 Long Island reported.
The footage shows the helicopter hovering over the crowds, who quickly disperse.
As the kids scramble for cover, shrouds of sand can be seen thrown up into the air.
The teens had been drawn to the beach by a flyer that had circulated that day, local media has reported.
But while the high schoolers had headed to the seaside for a relaxing, carefree day, witnesses say the situation quickly got out of control.
Cops restricted access to parts of the beach to prevent the situation escalating further.
However, there were no reports of serious injuries.
One person was arrested for menacing and disorderly conduct, according to Nassau County Police.
Beachgoers have told local media that such incidents offer a different picture of the area from previous years.
“The beach was never like this,” one local told News 12 Long Island.
“We came here as kids — it was so calm. But now it’s just crazy.”
However, officials say the beach is set to reopen as normal on Friday.
Commenters on Instagram were divided over how the police handled the situation.
One asked: “How many of my tax dollars went towards this helicopter flex?”
But another said: “I was there. 500 kids? I thought it was 1,000.
“And a lot of them looking for trouble. The police did a good job.
“The helicopter was encouraging them to leave by making it windy.”