BOLIVAR PENINSULA, Texas – Thousands of people have flocked to Texas beaches since their reopening, including a wave of people who attended Go Topless Jeep Weekend on the Bolivar peninsula May 15-17.
The notoriously wild event led to more than 100 arrests, according to multiple reports. KSAT is waiting for a call back from the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office to confirm the specific number of arrests.
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Last year’s Jeep Weekend had “68 arrests - 30 of which were alcohol-related and 10 of which were DWI-related, 10 major auto-pedestrian accidents, eight major car crashes and 14 minor accidents,” Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset told KPRC.
TEXSAR, a Texas search and rescue team, deployed 60 members in support of Jeep Weekend at the request of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, according to a Facebook post. “For the past year, TEXSAR has worked in coordination with local and state agencies to prepare for this extended annual incident. TEXSAR is deploying advanced medical task forces, trained water rescue personnel, drone teams and incident management personnel,” TEXSAR officials said.
A news report from 12NewsNow has gone viral on Twitter showing people partying at the beach. “We been in quarantine and like, I need to get out and party,” said one Jeep Weekend partygoer.
Official: Two people shot at Jeep Weekend at Texas beach
Not even SNL could not write something as ridiculous as this actual, real news report from my local station pic.twitter.com/VVTziwuyOd
— socially distant rendon (@maria_rendon97) May 18, 2020
Many beaches, along with parks, rivers and lakes are open per guidelines from Gov. Greg Abbott’s Open Texas Strike Force.
A quote attributed to Abbott on the Open Texas website states, “as we open Texas, we are each called upon to be Texans: to act responsibly as we re-engage in the economy, to continue following all health precautions and sanitizing guidelines, and to care for our vulnerable neighbors. Lives depend on our actions. I know you will respond as Texans."