“If we don’t get a handle on this, the consequences may become fatal.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson told the city council’s safety committee Tuesday that “teen takeovers” have become a growing problem nationwide.
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It works like this: A post appears on social media inviting youth to gather at a designated spot. Hundreds, in some cases thousands, of teenagers turn out late at night, sometimes overwhelming a neighborhood.
Large swarms of teens have gathered in communities across North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia this summer. Some gatherings have resulted in fights and shootings, like an event on the Fourth of July weekend in Raleigh that attracted 8,000 unsupervised juveniles to Brier Creek and Glenwood South.
More than 200 teens also gathered at a park in Charlotte on the holiday weekend. Patterson said the only reason that takeover didn’t get out of hand was because the city had over 200 officers patrolling the region.
“It is not sustainable to deploy that many officers every single day. We don’t have the staff, we have the budget for it,” said Patterson.
“What we’re experiencing is large numbers of our youth gathering, and they’re meeting up to cause fights, disturbances, and just overall disorder,” echoed Deputy Chief Jackie Bryley.
Bryley said while officers have stepped up curfew enforcement, many teens don’t carry identification and may not be willing to share their real name, age or home address.
Since January, Charlotte has recorded more than 1,532 criminal incidents with at least one juvenile suspect. Nearly one-third of those criminal incidents involving juveniles occurred between 8:00 p.m. and 5:59 a.m.
This week, the council’s safety committee endorsed the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s proposal to modify the city’s ordinance to a stricter 9 p.m. curfew for all children under the age of 18 every night of the week. The current youth protection curfew is tiered based on age.
Exceptions would stay in place for a teen who is accompanied by a parent or guardian or traveling to or from a place of employment. Attending or traveling to a recreational or sporting event that is supervised by adults or sponsored by the city or civic organization would still be permitted.
“Can we hope for a significant change from changing the curfew if there is a disregard for law enforcement?” asked Councilman Ed Driggs.
Patterson said Charlotte law enforcement will take a progressive approach starting with education or a warning before escalating to enforcement action.
“We recognize that many of our youth want to do the right thing, but then happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and things go badly,” said Patterson.
The Charlotte City Council is expected to take formal action on the stricter curfew when it meets in August. The Queen City is also promoting a teen summer jam series with the hope that the structured events will give youth a safe gathering spot on weekends.
The city of Raleigh is also weighing an 11 p.m. citywide curfew for people under 18. Raleigh’s City Council is scheduled to vote on that and possible fines for violators at its August 18 session.
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Unsecured firearms increase the risk
Rep. Marcia Morey (D-Durham) told NC Newsline this week that when she was a district court judge, she proposed a curfew following a rash of carjackings and burglaries by young people.
That proposal didn’t go anywhere, so she’s pleased to see cities working on more proactive solutions this summer.
“Kids have no business being on the street after 11:00 p.m. or midnight, unless they’re working. There can be exceptions,” said Morey.
Morey said increased access to guns has made the problem worse. During the teen takeover in Raleigh July 4th, police arrested 29 people and confiscated 11 firearms. A week later, a July 11th takeover in Charlotte attracted 300 juveniles. Three were arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm by a minor.
Morey said parents must play a bigger role in the solution — including knowing where their children are each night, and locking up any firearms they may own.
“If you have a gun, [if] it’s in a car or a truck and you leave, lock it up,” said Morey.
Morey introduced legislation in the 2025 session to make it unlawful to leave a firearm in an unattended motor vehicle unless the vehicle was locked and the firearm secured with a trigger lock or stored in a lock box. Republican leadership did not give her bill a hearing.
Billy Lassiter, deputy secretary with the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, is also appealing to parents to secure their guns.
Lassiter asked state lawmakers to provide $2.26 million in recurring funds for the NC Secure All Firearms Effectively campaign, which provides gun locks and safe storage messaging for firearm owners.
Two NC children die from firearms each week. State agency wants consistent funding to combat that.
While $1 million in funding was included in Gov. Josh Stein’s recommended budget, state lawmakers did not fund the program in the final 2026 Appropriations Act.
More than 100,000 guns have been stolen in North Carolina over the past decade, often ending up in the hands of children or criminals, according to Lassiter.
“We need some movement in gun safety because guns outnumber people now,” said Morey. “To me, that’s the most common sense, low-hanging fruit we could do.”
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