Opening Day Chaos: Competitor to Disney World Faces Violence as Crowds Clash

Police are searching for multiple suspects following the shooting of a 15-year-old near Six Flags Over Georgia on Saturday evening.

Credit: Six Flags Over Georgia

According to Cobb County Police officers, a shooting occurred just after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday night on a service road located just off the nearly 300-acre Six Flags Over Georgia property in Austell, Georgia, approximately 17 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Before the shooting, officers were dispatched to the Six Flags theme park after receiving a call from Six Flags Over Georgia security. A call was placed requesting help with dispersing “a sizeable unruly crowd” of as many as 600 people who were reportedly “running through the park and fighting,” according to a statement from Cobb County Police.

Credit: Six Flags Over Georgia

Shooting of a 15-Year-Old Guest

After police arrived, a 15-year-old was shot when police exchanged gunfire with members of the large crowd.

Police officers described the situation, saying that when they arrived on the scene, they were confronted by a large crowd of people who were exiting the theme park, which was commemorating the first day of the 2024 operating season.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into the shooting and said in a statement on Sunday afternoon that officers with the Cobb County Police Department were responding to a call for assistance with crowd control near the entrance to Six Flags Over Georgia “after several fights had taken place amongst patrons” who were leaving the park for the evening.

“At some point, multiple people began shooting, hitting an unoccupied CCPD marked patrol car,” the statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reads in part. “As officers identified where the shots were coming from, they ran after people who had run into the woods. During the incident, one CCPD officer fired his weapon, hitting one minor.”

Six Flags Responds

“It is incredibly disappointing that our community is disrupted at public events throughout the region by groups of underaged youth,” reads a statement from Six Flags Over Georgia. “Just like other venues in the area, we are committed to keeping this type of trouble outside our park and off our property.”

Six Flags park officials noted that the shooting occurred on South Service Road, which is not owned by Six Flags.

“However, we join our community and the Atlanta region in our commitment to safety and security. We won’t put up with that type of activity here,” park officials added, explaining that Six Flags Over Georgia is equipped with “state-of-the-art security systems and metal detection.”

“Every guest is expected to follow our strict code of conduct, and anyone unwilling to follow that code of conduct is unwelcome,” park officials added.

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