After shootings, Revere’s acting mayor says upped police patrol on beach can only do so much

REVERE, Mass — Today is going to be a scorcher. That means many people will be heading to local beaches. And that has law enforcement amping up patrols, especially on Revere Beach where shots rang out several times over the Memorial Day weekend.

State police have their barracks right here next to the beach. They always step up staffing levels during holidays and big events. When the weather gets nice—they know they have to add extra troopers on duty to try and prevent violent incidents from occurring.

There were several shootings that happened near Revere Beach over the Memorial Day weekend. Three people were shot—and police say the victims were likely not the intended targets. The shootings forced hundreds to evacuate the area.

Video shows gunman open fire near Revere Beach striking 17-year-old girl

The acting Mayor says officials know they need to make sure there are enough officers to handle the crowds, but there also isn’t an unlimited supply of law enforcement. But when the weather is warm like it is today, they can prepare and adjust their plans when the temperature changes.

“Because of the weather, they do have flexibility to change the staffing more when they see those weather events,” said Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe Jr. “Saturday, it’s supposed to rain, so you probably won’t want to deploy forces on days like that. And that’s where that spread-out approach happens.”

Revere Beach hosts big events like the sand sculpting competition where millions come here---so police know how to plan for big crowds. But even when they have enough officers on the beach---the Keefe says they can’t predict what people are going to do.

“Events like Sunday, as unfortunate as they are, we can’t say that they’re never going to happen,” said Keefe Jr. “All we can say is we can plan accordingly. We do plan accordingly to make sure that will prevent these from happening often.”

So far there has been one arrest in last weekend’s shootings, but police are still investigating. The victims are going to recover. The message to the public on Revere Beach from the police is: if you see something, say something.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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