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Orange Crush beach blowout nets 26 arrests, cops seize makeshift machine gun as massive crowd tests crackdown
Tybee Island’s controversial Orange Crush weekend ended with 26 arrests and five firearms seized, including one weapon police say had been converted into a makeshift machine gun capable of fully automatic fire.
Between Friday, April 17, and Sunday, April 19, the Tybee Island Police Department and Georgia State Patrol made a total of 26 arrests during the annual beach bash, according to preliminary figures provided to Fox News Digital by Tybee Island Police Capt. Emory Randolph.
Of those arrests, 19 were made by Tybee Island police and seven were made by the Georgia State Patrol. The total marks four more arrests than last year’s event, when authorities made 22 arrests over the weekend. There were 54 arrests during Orange Crush in 2024 and 26 in 2023.
No other details on the arrests were immediately available.
Police also handed out 100 traffic citations over the three-day span, with 49 issued by Tybee Island officers and 51 by state troopers.
During the same period, the island’s 911 center handled 297 calls for service, Randolph said.
The annual event branded this year as “Crush Reloaded,” returned to Tybee Island over the weekend with organizers promoting it online as “THE BIGGEST HBCU BEACH BASH IS BACK” and saying more than 50,000 people were expected.
WATCH: Tybee Island mayor says Orange Crush Reloaded is no longer ‘destructive’
Tybee Island Mayor Brian West told Fox News Digital the city’s security approach closely mirrored what authorities have used in recent years.
“It’s pretty similar to what we did last year. It looks like we might have more people this year, but we put in a safety protocol three years ago that seems to be pretty effective. And it’s pretty much what we’ve seen for the past three years now,” West told Fox News Digital.
West said authorities brought in help from agencies across the region and the state, including the Georgia State Patrol, Department of Natural Resources, Motor Carrier Division, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, Chatham County Police Department and Tybee Island’s own police force.
West said the stepped-up safety measures followed problems in 2023, when he said people who were not college students came to the event and brought “drugs and guns.”
“We had a really bad situation in 2023. And what happened was we had a lot of people that came to this event that weren’t college students. They were older people that were trying to take advantage of the group, and they were bringing drugs and guns,” West said. “And with the security that we put in place, we’ve been able to filter those people out. And so now we have college students that are here, and it’s more of a spring break type group than it is a destructive type group.”
He also said city leaders have found the event runs more smoothly when students have organized entertainment.
“It really works much better when we work together and have some type of activity for the students to do. In the past, when they just showed up, they kinda had to make their own fun. And sometimes that fun really wasn’t the best thing to be doing,” West said. “So when there’s an activity, when there is a band, when there are things to keep their attention, it works much better.”
WATCH: CEO of Orange Crush says event is ‘rebranded’ with collaboration with police, city
Orange Crush Reloaded CEO Steven Smalls similarly told Fox News Digital the event is intended to give college students a place to celebrate safely.
“It’s about the college students more than anything to come out and have a good time and focus on the graduation that’s coming up in May. It’s a college-based thing and hopefully in the future I’m able to give back to some student debt relief and hopefully one day help one of SSU (Savannah State University) students. Give one of these kids a scholarship if I do good out here, you know, just put back towards the college community,” Smalls said.
Smalls said the rebranded event and cooperation with city officials helped create a better environment for attendees.
WATCH: ILLEGAL STREET RACING ‘TAKEOVER’ EXPLODES AS HUNDREDS SWARM STREETS AND SUSPECTS BOLT
“This is the rebrand. I think that’s probably the best thing that happened. I love the way the relationship is built, and I understand what they got going on, and they understand what I have going on. And working together, it became just right here what you see today,” Smalls said.
He also argued that the organized festival helps channel the crowds.
“If I wasn’t doing this, then they would just be popping out here. There wouldn’t be no sound, no entertainment. It wouldn’t nothing for them to do, it’d just be them being so pushed out. So me bringing the entertainment and me being here, they come out here to have fun. The police presence, that helps you be safe,” Smalls said.
Known for drawing massive crowds to the small Georgia beach town, Orange Crush has long stirred controversy among residents and law enforcement because of past violence, arrests and trash left behind in its wake.
Ahead of this year’s festivities, Tybee Island officials said they were heightening enforcement and preparing for an influx of visitors, as local concerns grew over public safety and so-called “teen takeovers” that have been reported around the country and in the region.
“Rest assured that we have heard you and that public safety will always be our top priority,” Randolph previously told Fox News Digital when asked about residents’ concerns over the event.
Beginning Thursday before the festival weekend, residents and visitors saw an increased law enforcement presence from various local and state agencies across the island. Authorities also launched a road safety checkpoint on Highway 80, carved out emergency lanes on main roads and closed the 14th and 16th Street parking lots in an effort to maintain order.
WATCH: Teen takeover in Georgia caught on camera
On April 4, police said an unpermitted pop-up event near the Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion was interrupted by gunfire after hundreds of teens gathered in the area.
Officers said they heard a single gunshot around 6:30 p.m., sending the crowd running.
Orange Crush dates back decades and earned a reputation in the early 1990s as a rowdy, crime-filled weekend.
The festival later moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in 2021, citing issues including limited parking, lack of resources and alleged civil rights concerns, before returning to Tybee Island in 2023 for the first time since 2020.
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Newest Steelers receiver Michael Pittman Jr talks possible Aaron Rodgers return: ‘I’m hoping he’s close’
The Pittsburgh Steelers are still waiting on Aaron Rodgers’ 2026 NFL season decision — will he play, or is retirement finally calling for the four-time MVP?
The Steelers and head coach Mike McCarthy, his old leader from their time with the Green Bay Packers, continue to wait patiently, and so is one of the newest in the building: wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
“I’m hoping he’s close,” Pittman told Fox News Digital during a recent interview ahead of his time at the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh with Toyota.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Pittman arrived in Pittsburgh earlier this offseason after the Indianapolis Colts reached a trade with the Steelers to send the seven-year receiver east. As he continues to get acclimated, Pittman is already hearing the question: Is Rodgers coming back?
“I don’t know anything — people think that we know something. Why would Aaron tell me anything?” he said, laughing.
Pittman said he isn’t “worried about it too much” from a personal perspective, given his time in Indianapolis was riddled with quarterback turnover. Throughout his tenure with the Colts, Pittman played for 10 different starting quarterbacks, including Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Daniel Jones this past season.
It even got so bad in 2025 following Jones’ injury that he was reunited with Rivers, who was signed in hopes he could help salvage the season.
But while some of those guys are likely heading to the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, there’s no doubting Rodgers’ Canton hopes and what he brings to a team even if he is turning 43 in December.
“Obviously, Aaron is a great player — look at everything he’s done,” Pittman added. “We would love to have him back. At the end of the day, he has to decide that for himself.”
Rodgers may not be at the Steelers’ start to voluntary offseason program, but he is working out to stay in shape in preparation for the new season if he decides to return. But there has been radio silence between both sides, according to NFL Network, and there is no expectation to hear from him before the first round of the draft begins on Thursday night.
AARON RODGERS GIVES CHEEKY RESPONSE WHEN ASKED ABOUT REASONS TO WORKOUT
While Pittman, the Steelers and the rest of the NFL wait to hear from Rodgers, Will Howard, the team’s sixth-round pick in last year’s draft, is the expected starting quarterback for McCarthy’s squad heading into the voluntary workouts.
In the meantime, Pittman will continue to enjoy the sports-crazed city he now calls home.
“Being in Pittsburgh, just the vibe of driving around, everybody is wearing something sports. It’s either the Steelers, the Pirates or the Penguins,” Pittman explained. “Somebody’s wearing some black and gold, which I think is awesome. They love their football there. I mean, Indy loves football, too. I’m not taking anything away from Indy fans, but it’s just the Pittsburgh — everybody knows Pittsburgh for being Pittsburgh. The Steelers, the fans. The town is set on these rivers. The stadium is right there, the scenery. It is something crazy, and I’m excited to be there and be able to play for them.”
IMPACTING LOCAL FLAG FOOTBALL WITH TOYOTA
Pittman is always looking to impact his community, especially being in a new city. Following his role as a coach during Toyota’s Glow Up Classic during Super Bowl week in San Francisco, Pittman is back with the automotive manufacturer for a special NFL Draft flag football training camp featuring Pittsburgh high school girls flag players on the eve of draft night.
Pittman, alongside some NFL Draft prospects and members of the U.S. Women’s National Flag Football team, will be putting on his coach’s hat to help coordinate drills, while giving instruction and mentorship to those girls participating.
And even better, select participants will be chosen to walk the NFL Draft Red Carpet, as they get to experience and witness some of the best young players in football fulfill their dream, like Pittman, of hearing their names called in the NFL Draft.
With new national data from Campus Multimedia and YouGov finding that 70% of teens (12-17) want brands supporting their school community, this is just another example of how Toyota is making an impact in communities all over the country. As an official partner of NFL FLAG league play, which has helped grow the game by reaching over 300,000 youth players nationwide with over $3 million in support, Toyota is also buying all NFL FLAG fall registration kit fees for current players in the Pittsburgh Flag Football League (PFFL) coed youth and high school girls leagues.
“Our main message to these girls is to capture their spotlight, and I just know this is all for them,” Pittman said. “We’re just there to pump them up and anyway we can champion them and just lift them up and let them know we’re here to support girls flag and we want to make it a renowned sport.”
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A repeat offender in Texas released early has been arrested after allegedly murdering a pregnant woman, police confirmed to Fox News Digital Monday.
Kevin Faux, 24, had been wanted on a capital murder charge in the death of 23-year-old Ashanti Allen, who was eight months pregnant when she was reported missing on April 10.
He was arrested without incident by the U.S. Marshals Service New Orleans Office, police said.
Allen, 23, was last seen on April 10 after leaving her Houston home, according to FOX 26.
She was eight months pregnant and experiencing a high-risk pregnancy when she disappeared, police said.
The Houston Police Department said that Faux was the father of Allen’s unborn child.
The 23-year-old woman was found dead on April 16 and police identified Faux as the suspect in her death.
Court records obtained by KHOU-TV show Faux had multiple prior assault-related cases, including a 2019 aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a 2021 misdemeanor assault involving another woman, and two 2025 assault charges involving Allen.
Faux was jailed in September 2025 in connection with the assaults against Allen. In February, he was sentenced to 280 days behind bars.
However, the local outlet reported that he received a “two-for-one” credit, a practice commonly used to manage the jail population, which cut his sentence in half.
Allen’s mother said she never knew about Faux’s history of violence.
“I didn’t know anything about the incidents until she went missing, because if I had known that, he would have never been around my daughter,” she told KHOU-TV.
Allen’s cause of death is not known at this time.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Marshals Service for additional information.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
A Canadian woman was shot and killed Monday, and several others were injured, before a gunman took his own life at Mexico’s popular Teotihuacan pyramids.
Mexican officials said that four people were wounded by gunfire and two others sustained injuries from falls. Among the injured were tourists from Colombia, Russia, and Canada, according to local government reports via The Associated Press.
A firearm, a bladed weapon, and live cartridges were found at the scene, Mexico’s Security Cabinet confirmed on social media.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on social media that the shooting would be thoroughly investigated and that she was in contact with the Canadian Embassy.
TOURISTS TRAPPED IN PUERTO VALLARTA RECOUNT CARTEL RETALIATION AFTER EL MENCHO KILLED
“What happened today in Teotihuacan deeply pains us,” she wrote. “I express my most sincere solidarity with the affected individuals and their families.”
MAJOR DRUG LORD ‘EL MENCHO’ KILLED IN MEXICAN MILITARY OPERATION WITH U.S. INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT
Sheinbaum said she has instructed the Security Cabinet to investigate the events and provide all necessary support to the victims.
“Personnel from the Secretariat of the Interior and the Secretariat of Culture are already heading to the site to provide assistance and accompaniment, along with local authorities,” she said. “I am closely following the situation, and we will continue to provide timely updates through the Security Cabinet.”
The pre-Hispanic city, located just outside Mexico City, was once one of the most significant cultural centers in Mesoamerica.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Canada’s foreign ministry for comment.
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