Police in Richmond, Virginia, said that 300 cars converged in an attempt to take over the city during the past weekend.
Authorities said that the individuals involved wanted to block streets to carry out illegal activities.
“Their entire point was to come to Richmond, specifically Richmond, to do ‘burnouts,’ ‘donuts,’ and other illegal activities on the streets of Richmond,” Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said at a news conference.
Police said the cars gathered in Richmond at around 9 p.m. on Feb. 19 and stopped at several locations, posing a threat to public security by blocking roads and intersections as well as engaging in reckless driving.
“What could have been a potentially deadly gathering of individuals fueled by large spectator crowds was prevented by RPD officers who issued 45 summons for various offenses,” Richmond Police Department spokesperson Tracy Walker said.
“We watch social media quite a bit, monitoring for any illegal activities and things that can help us in the investigation, and we came across it, and we started to monitor it very closely,” Smith said.
Multiple vehicles were seen doing “donuts” and “burnouts” in parking lots and other areas. The drivers dispersed within hours after officers issued the summonses for various offenses.
“That’s very dangerous behavior: speeding. You’re talking about they are taking their life in their own hand, and not only their life, but an innocent pedestrian who may not know exactly what’s taking place,” Smith said.
One person was arrested on a felony charge of eluding police, reckless driving, and having an illegal window tint, officials said. His vehicle was impounded.
“There’s no other way to put it. This is foolish, and it’s not going to be tolerated in Richmond,” said Smith, adding that officers estimated that about 1,500 people were involved.
Police didn’t provide other details about the incident.
