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Slashdot: Viral TikTok Video Attracts 2,500 Teenagers to Rowdy California Birthday Party. 175 Arrested

Viral TikTok Video Attracts 2,500 Teenagers to Rowdy California Birthday Party. 175 Arrested
Published on May 31, 2021 at 05:23AM
A birthday party for 17-year-old Adrian Lopez turned into a viral TikTok event that drew thousands of unruly party-goers to Huntington Beach, California, reports the Los Angeles Times. Just not Adrian Lopez, "who in the days leading up to the party was increasingly nervous about all the attention." When it was over, more than 175 people were arrested, city officials and merchants were adding up the damage, and everyone was wondering who should be blamed and who should be billed... The high schooler's invitation was picked up by TikTok's "For You" algorithm and viewed by people across the country. The announcement was curious: Who was this mystery teen, and would anyone actually go to his party? Some TikTok users, including internet celebrities, began posting about it, and videos with the hashtag #adrianskickback have since drawn more than 326 million views. On Saturday night, roughly 2,500 teenagers and young adults — some who say they drove for hours or flew in from other states — converged on the Huntington Beach Pier and downtown area in a gathering that devolved into mayhem. Partygoers blasted fireworks into a mob in the middle of Pacific Coast Highway, jumped on police cars, scaled palm trees and flag poles and leapt from the pier into throngs of people below to crowd-surf. A window at CVS was smashed, businesses were tagged with graffiti, and the roof of Lifeguard Tower 13 collapsed after it was scaled... Authorities spotted the party announcement when it began circulating last week and immediately began staffing up in preparation for what was being billed as a weekend-long event. In all, more than 150 officers from nearly every police agency in Orange County were called out to the beach Saturday night to help get the crowd under control. Clashes with police broke out Saturday, and officers fired rubber bullets and pepper projectiles as they tried to disperse the crowd. Eventually, authorities issued an overnight curfew to clear the streets... The majority of those taken into custody over the weekend were not from Orange County, police said. One 53-year-old watching the crowd told the Times that "Literally they were playing in traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway." But the Times also got a quote from one 18-year-old attendee who "went to last Saturday's party but said he does not condone the debauchery that ensued." "People my age haven't gone out in a year... It was to get the ball rolling. This is the start of summer."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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