Santa Monica Police stayed one step ahead of the TikTokers on Sunday.
Several beach parking lots north of the pier were closed for about 90 minutes “out of an abundance of caution” as SMPD looked to avoid a repeat of the chaos in Huntington Beach the day before.
“Sometime yesterday we received information a social media influencer, who was involved in the activities in Huntington Beach the previous day (Saturday), was potentially planning something here in our city,” Lieutenant Rudy Flores tells The Sun exclusively.
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“The western portion of the city was very busy, with gridlock throughout many of the streets and the parking lots at the beach were full. Out of an abundance of caution and as a safety measure, the on-duty watch commander made the decision to close a few of the beach parking lots.”
A reader advises The Sun she was unable to access lots 7, 8 and 9, south of the Annenberg Beach House around 7:00 PM.
Per Flores, the affected lots were closed around 5:30 PM and were re-opened at about 7:00 PM.
“During this timeframe, vehicles were allowed to exit, however the entrances were closed to any vehicle wanting to drive in,” he said.
All lots are expected to remain open this evening.
On Saturday, about 2,500 people swarmed around the Huntington Pier for a party promoted on social media app TikTok. 149 people — including 28 juveniles — were arrested as the crowd ran through traffic, set off fireworks and vandalized police cars.
The hashtag advertising the event, called “AdriansKickBack,” was viewed more than 273 million times on the app as of Monday morning, The O.C. Register reported.
SMPD did not report any unlawful assembly.
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