Florida

Florida skate rink owner says canceled party sparked riot involving kids: 'They came to fight'

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2024

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Florida skate rink owner says canceled party sparked riot involving kids: 'They came to fight'

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A riot broke out at a Florida skate rink after the venue called off what was supposed to be a child’s birthday party. Now, the rink owner is speaking out and is set to discuss the incident with law enforcement.

Chris Manganias, owner of Astro Skating Center in Hillsborough County, explained on “Fox & Friends First” that the event was booked as a child’s party from 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., but a manager saw the clients were advertising the event online as a teen dance party.

Manganias said the clients violated their contract by advertising the event without approval and failing to hire an off-deputy officer for security, which the rink requires for teen events.

He then decided to cancel the event entirely.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to a large brawl at the Astro Skate roller skating rink in Brandon, Florida on Saturday, May 18, 2024, leading to the arrests of 23 juveniles and six adults.

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“So we exercised our option, called [the client] on Friday, gave her her money back,” he explained.

“She screamed and cussed, carried on, called us all sorts of filthy names. And then on Saturday started posting on social media platforms to ‘go to the skating rink and give the police and the skating rink a hard time.’ And that’s what they did.”

Police say as many as 400 people showed up, and the situation escalated to a massive brawl.

“It’s a different world, man. You’ve got 12, 13, 14-year-old kids cussing, screaming, threatening the police. And then the mamas come and say that, ‘Oh they’re just children.’ And I’ve been dealing with children my whole life. What you see on that camera? Those are not children.”

Footage provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shows dozens of people fist fighting, breaking through windows, and shocking violence.

Manganias said a crowd gathered outside the rink after being denied entry, but when efforts were made to disperse the large group, violence broke out.

Police ultimately arrested 23 juveniles and six adults.

“The climate has changed dramatically with the teenagers,” he said, adding that many rinks don’t host events on Friday or Saturday nights at all.

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The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested six adults for trespassing and other charges after a brawl broke out at Astro Skate in Brandon, Florida on May 18, 2024. Pictured top left to right: Lekera Evans, Yazelynn Ramos, Malik Carter. Bottom left to right: Jadyn Sebro, Aliyah Alfonso, Fareed Carter (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

“When the crowd smells like marijuana, when there’s nothing but profanity, all sorts of those words that we’re not allowed to use – that’s my call. And I said, ‘look, we’re done. We’re not going to let any more people in.’”

“They dispersed, but then they went up and down the block attacking people and destroying people’s businesses. So this is the climate right now with that element.”

Manganias said security was on-site when the violence broke out, as his rinks always employ off-duty officers, but the crowd didn’t seem to care.

“If you look at these videos of these people fighting up and down the street, none of them have roller skates in their hands. None of them have skates on their feet. They came to fight. That’s what they do,” he said.

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Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

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Florida

Suspect struck, killed by car after Florida officer deploys stun gun

Published

5 hours ago

June 23, 2024

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Suspect struck, killed by car after Florida officer deploys stun gun

TAMPA, Fla. – A Tampa police officer deployed his Taser while attempting to arrest a domestic violence suspect who was then fatally struck by a car, according to a news release.

Officers responded around 2:20 a.m. Friday to a reported domestic-related assault in the 4000 block of West Hillsborough Avenue, the release states. The first officer on the scene located the suspect and attempted to question him, yet police said the suspect refused to obey commands and tried entering a vehicle that a female victim was inside before attempting to leave on foot.

The officer deployed his Taser and a vehicle traveling eastbound on West Hillsborough Avenue then struck the suspect and continued without stopping, according to the release.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. It was not immediately shared whether the suspect was lying in the road stunned when the crash occurred. News 6 is working to learn more.

The Tampa Police Department has classified the suspect’s death as an in-custody death due to how the officer was attempting to arrest them when they were struck by the vehicle, according to the release. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has thus taken the lead on the death investigation in accordance with a mutual aid agreement, police said.

Traffic homicide investigators are otherwise still working to identify and locate the vehicle that struck the suspect, according to the release, though no description was available at the time of this report.

A victim’s advocate would work with the victim in the case, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

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Florida

Family whose home was hit by space debris seeks damages from NASA

Published

12 hours ago

June 23, 2024

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Family whose home was hit by space debris seeks damages from NASA

A family is seeking compensation from NASA after a piece of metal trash from the International Space Station tore through the roof of their home in Naples, Fla. in March.

No one was hurt, but a legal representative for the Otero family described it as a “near miss” that “could have been catastrophic,” in a news release published Friday.

Homeowner Alejandro Otero previously told The Washington Post that on the day of the incident he received a panicked call from his son. He returned home to find the dense, cylindrical piece of charred metal a little smaller than a soup can lodged in a wall, and knew immediately it “was from outer space.”

“My clients are seeking adequate compensation to account for the stress and impact that this event had on their lives,” the family’s attorney, Mica Nguyen Worthy, said in a news release. “If the debris had hit a few feet in another direction, there could have been serious injury or a fatality.”

NASA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legal claim.

NASA previously confirmed that the 1.6-pound cylindrical object that smashed through the roof of the Otero’s house was a piece of a 5,800-pound cargo pallet carrying old nickel hydride batteries released from the International Space Station in March 2021.

The space junk had been expected to burn up upon reentering the Earth’s atmosphere, but somehow survived, sparking concerns about a possible increase in such incidents in the future.

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“Space debris is a real and serious issue because of the increase in space traffic in recent years,” Worthy said.

How NASA responds to the claim could set a legal precedent for how it treats such incidents when they involve U.S. citizens and residents, Worthy said. She is asking NASA to treat the family’s case in the same way that it would meet its obligations under international space law.

In the case of international incidents, the “launching state” — the country that procured an object’s launch or the country from which it was launched — is liable for any damage its objects cause. In the early ’80s, the Soviet Union agreed to pay millions in compensation after a malfunctioning satellite burned up over Canada.

“If the incident had happened overseas, and someone in another country were damaged by the same space debris as in the Oteros’ case, the U.S. would have been absolutely liable to pay for those damages,” Worthy said.

Worthy did not immediately respond to questions on the claim, including how much the family is seeking. She told science and technology publication Ars Technica that the claim is “in excess of $80,000.”

NASA has six months to respond to the claim under the Federal Torts Claim Act, she said in the news release. The claim includes noninsured property damage loss, business interruption damages, emotional and mental anguish damages and the costs for assistance from third parties.

Praveena Somasundaram and Daniel Wu contributed to this report.

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Florida

‘The sky is literally the limit’:100 Black Men of Greater Florida Gainesville Aviation Academy soars to new heights

Published

19 hours ago

June 22, 2024

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‘The sky is literally the limit’:100 Black Men of Greater Florida Gainesville Aviation Academy soars to new heights

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -100 Black Men of Greater Florida Gainesville held their 6th annual Aviation Academy and participants say it did not disappoint.

“My favorite part was flying the planes,” Regan Hollinger, a student shared. “The experience of being able to fly over the Gator stadium and over people’s houses, over the interstate, over lakes, it was just an amazing experience and I love being in the air.”

Students started the two-day camp at the Kika Silva Planetarium at Santa Fe college and ended it with a visit to Gainesville Regional Airport’s University Flight School.

“We have individuals that are members of the 100 that are pilots,” Ray McKnight, the President of 100 Black Men Greater Florida Gainesville commented. “They’re taking the kids up in the aircraft some of the kids are even getting the opportunity to fly the plane.”

The future pilots learned about helicopters, military aircraft, drones, and more.

Myla Chilongo, a high school participant says though the name of the organization may be misleading, everyone is welcome to reap the benefits.

“Even though this is for the 100 black men I think that it’s important that this organization and aviation thing is co-ed because it allows black women to think outside the box,” she shared.

Students also enjoyed a catered lunch, a DJ, and a raffle contest.

Officials with University Flight School say in the future, they hope to see the kids enroll with them and take flight as professionals.

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