The closure in Osceola County, Florida means party time for local gangs.
For the past few months, “nasty” people have been renting vacation homes in gated communities and throwing big COVID-19 parties in hopes of spreading the disease, according to Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson. The parties often extend to residential streets and more than 600 complaints have been filed.
“Last week, someone, some people in the crowd threw fireworks at the officers who were there. They did the right thing, stepped back, waited for additional resources to come in, and then we went in and took care of the party, ”Gibson told ClickOrlando. “We scatter it.” Later a gun was recovered from that party.
The parties, ranging in size from 50 to 100 people, attract gang members from all over central Florida.
“There are some gangs that rent these houses and come to Osceola County. And this is something that we have to protect our residents with, ”Gibson told the website. In April, a man was killed at one of these parties in Davenport, in nearby Polk County.
The sheriff is also concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in the county, which has had 5,556 coronavirus cases, 248 hospitalizations, and 38 deaths, and blames the parties for the spike.
“From what I have been told, they are referred to as COVID-19 parties where they are really getting together and trying to mix together to potentially spread the virus among themselves if they are asymptomatic or whatever the case might be,” he said. Gibson. “We just saw a tremendous peak here in Osceola County.”
Residents of closed communities are “living a life of terror right now,” added Gibson.
“These are real situations, very dangerous situations, and our residents are afraid, you know, and we don’t want that,” he said. “And we don’t want to feel that apart from dispersing this, we are powerless and just keep happening. Osceola County cannot be listed as Party Center or Party Center COVID-19 “.
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