BLUE ASH, Ohio — A Blue Ash city council member is calling for bolstered security measures after roughly "400 unaccompanied youth" set off fireworks at the annual MadTree Red, White & Blue Ash celebration on Friday, leading to six arrests.
The large group of juveniles set off fireworks numerous times throughout the party, mostly around their group, police said, "intentionally causing panic."
"And then a whole 'nother group of people would run through that crowd yelling, 'Gun, shooter,' anything else they could think of to generate even more panic," councilman Jeff Capell said. "I felt horrible for the people who were right there and had to go through it."
Six people, including four juveniles, were arrested in connection with the fireworks and subsequent panic.
A 13-year-old was charged with assault on a peace officer, disorderly conduct and inducing panic. The assault and disorderly conduct charges were later dismissed. Blue Ash police had said an officer was burned on the leg by one of the fireworks, leading to an assault charge. That officer was treated and released from the hospital, police said.
A 14-year-old was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old were charged with disorderly conduct. Two 18-year-olds were also charged with disorderly conduct: Dononvan Hayden-Thomason and Jerone Behanan.
WATCH: Police say around 400 young people set off fireworks, causing panic. See those moments captured on video here
I was at Red, White and Blue Ash Friday night when the incidents took place. I recall seeing it happen with my own eyes three times — once near the food vendors, once near the rides and one last time near the luxury apartment building on Summit Parkway. During each chaotic moment, I heard several people scream about a shooting or a person with a gun.
"What's happening is you have these lowlifes who are not doing anything good with their own life. So, they're specifically targeting successful events and successful venues to go see if they can ruin it for everybody else," Capell said.
In a Facebook post, Capell questioned if enough proactive policing actions were taken: "I'll be asking questions about that myself, with my #1 question being how do 400 low-lifes gather like this undetected enough to even be able to execute their stunts?"
To ensure safety at future Red White and Blue Ash events, Capell has suggested potentially banning certain items from the celebration like jackets, sweatshirts, face masks and some backpacks.
"Even though it could have been a lot worse, in no way should anyone minimize what (attendees) did have to go through," he said. "Those kind of policies definitely have to get reviewed as well. The planning for this event is year-round, so planning for next year's has already started, and it's just where all of us have to do our part, come together to make sure that we're doing this as well as we can."
Police said they have not received any other reports of injuries caused by the fireworks.
"We understand this was a scary situation for many, and we hear you," said Blue Ash Police Chief Roger Pohlman. "It was an unfolding situation, and our officers worked quickly to apprehend the individuals involved."
Pohlman said Blue Ash police will review its security protocols to "ensure the safety and well-being of attendees and our officers," as they do with all events.
