A street-racing gang that was supposedly keeping the shirtless guy up all night was confronted by him when he stormed out of his California house early on Thursday morning while holding a machete.
Shortly after midnight in Anaheim, a guy was seen wielding what seemed to be a machete while walking barefoot and only in basketball shorts near the junction of Haster Street and Orangewood Avenue.
At least three young guys in a black Chevy spun donuts and conducted burnouts outside his home as a throng gathered on the streets to watch. He seemed to want to face the enormous crowd that had collected at the crossroads.
In the end, though, the guy turned aside and returned unharmed to his home.
But soon, according to KABC, a brawl broke out at the same junction.
According to NBC Los Angeles, police claimed to have received over a dozen reports about the street takeover yesterday night.
They arrived barely seven minutes after the initial call, but the throng had already departed.
Authorities said that no accidents or injuries were recorded in the area, but resident Jorge Rodriguez claimed it was the second time in a short period of time he had been awakened by these alleged street takeovers.
Two further street takeovers were recorded that night in Anaheim and two more occurred in adjacent Santa Ana.
The same folks were engaged in each one, a photojournalist who captured the incidents on camera reported KRON.
According to KRON, when police arrived at one of the takeovers in Santa Ana, automobiles began to leave. After that, they were able to issue a few citations.
Sergeant Shane Carringer of the Anaheim Police Department told KTLA that he would advise anybody attending these events to reconsider their decision.
They are unnecessarily interfering with the lives of individuals who are simply trying to wake up and go to work the following morning and don’t want to be exposed to this noise and this kind of conduct, inflicting thousands of dollars in damage.
Since the COVID outbreak left highways unoccupied, street takeovers, also known as side shows, have become more popular in Southern California, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Times notes that whereas there were 500 street takeovers in LA during the first half of 2021, there were 705 during the same period this year.
The LAPD is currently attempting to clamp down on these incidents since they have caused six fatalities in the previous eight months, including one of a teenage lad.
The LAPD said that during a Friday to Saturday operation, 40 persons were detained and many vehicles were seized.
According to the Times, the operation also resulted in the capture of two individuals: one wanted for murder and the other for hit-and-run.
Police, however, claim that the takeovers, in which onlookers and daredevils block a junction to watch a daring performance, are often too big for them to handle.
If there are genuinely just two police vehicles present, Sgt. Michael Downing of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department told the Times, “You can’t do anything with 200 other cars on the runway.”
We’ve had cops assaulted, patrol vehicles smashed into, and individuals ran over as automobiles are leaving,’ he said.
Our resources are limited, and we are unable to effectively manage the crowds.
The LA city attorney’s office is now considering whether to impose fines and penalties on people who post cryptic invites to these street takeovers on Instagram.
To merely attend one of these takeovers is already a misdemeanour in Anaheim.