ST. LOUIS — Police arrested 60 people, including 45 juveniles, during Fourth of July celebrations downtown, citing parents for their children’s behavior for the first time.
The arrests occurred between 6 p.m. on July 4 and 3:30 a.m. on July 5, with police noting a rise in ‘fireworks wars’ promoted on social media. Eight of the arrests involved firearms, while others were charged with resisting arrest, discharging fireworks, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Chief Robert Tracy of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department expressed concern over parental supervision, stating, “We had one parent that came down. Took the summons. Grabbed their child and drove them back here and dropped them off. Let them go out with fireworks, and then we re-arrested them again.”
Visitor Deanna Fragala from Northern Virginia supported the new approach, saying, “If you don’t know where your child is and they’re 12, 13, 14 years old. Then it’s a serious problem for a parent. We’re solely responsible for our underage children.”
Police established a ‘reunification center’ at a secret location to hold juveniles until their parents arrived. If parents did not show up within 45 minutes after midnight, they faced additional citations.
The crackdown comes amid a surge in fire-related incidents across the city, with the St. Louis Fire Department responding to 631 calls, including 19 building fires and 35 grass fires.
Mitch McCoy, SLMPD Public Information Officer, noted, “In addition to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, there were several individuals that were cited for resisting. There were several individuals that were cited for either possession or discharging fireworks within the city of Saint Louis.”
Visitor Kymberly Anderson from Dallas, Texas, remarked on parental accountability, saying, “Some parts of Texas, parents are already accountable. If your children do something they’re not supposed to do. You may be called into court to discuss did you provide appropriate supervision for your kids?”
Police plan to continue citing parents and increasing patrols, especially for upcoming downtown events and nightlife on Washington Avenue. As of now, no officers were injured during the incidents.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.
