Clearwater and Pinellas County law enforcement officials say they are stepping up efforts to monitor and prevent teen takeover events following a shooting on Clearwater Beach that left a 17-year-old injured.
During a press conference June2, Clearwater Deputy Police Chief Michael Walek and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri addressed the May 31 incident and outlined plans to prevent similar events from occurring throughout the summer.
Authorities said that a 16-year-old suspect, identified as Noel Marsh III, has been arrested in Polk County and is facing charges of attempted second-degree murder, discharging a firearm in public and unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor.
"Since December 2025, our Threat Management Unit has identified 11 takeover-style events," Walek said. "Nine of those were canceled, two never materialized. Just yesterday, there were mentions on social media posts of another takeover in Clearwater Beach. We increased our manpower on the beach and received assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office."
Walek said approximately 40 officers were assigned to Clearwater Beach throughout the day. Initially, groups gathered peacefully and were not engaging in unlawful activity. The situation changed when additional individuals arrived from outside the area, including Polk County.
The groups were hanging out on the beach and pier doing nothing unlawful, but the situation escalated later on.
Gualtieri said law enforcement agencies have been largely successful in preventing takeover events before they occur but acknowledged how quickly the Clearwater Beach shooting unfolded.
"We have been very successful in monitoring these types of incidents and making sure that they don't escalate, but this happened very fast," Gualtieri said. "We're committed to making sure that everything is safe, but this was the first weekend of summer break for these kids, and this is the last weekend that this nonsense will happen."
Gualtieri said typically the first few weeks of summer break there is an increase of juvenile-related crime and the County offers numerous programs and activities to try and prevent these occurrences. However, he said many of the youths involved in takeover events are unlikely to participate.
"As far as the parents are concerned, these parents need to own it," Gualtieri said. "They do need to be responsible for these kids. These kids who are 14, 15, 16 years old, I think the victim in this was 17 and the shooter 16. These were all kids."
Gualtieri said the teens who participated in the Clearwater Beach takeover go there using Uber and other forms of transportation.
"Where are they getting the money? How are they doing this? They (parents) need to be responsible for it," he said.
The sheriff also cited a recent example involving a planned takeover event on Madeira Beach. After deputies contacted a juvenile believed to be promoting the gathering and spoke with the child's mother, the event was later canceled.
Walek and Gualtieri said they will continue working together to identify and prevent future takeover events. As part of those efforts, agencies are implementing new software designed to monitor social media activity and help investigators detect planned gatherings before they occur.