Teen shot near Six Flags Over Georgia identified; list of charges released
Six Flags Over Georgia on March 2, 2024.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - The 15-year-old shot by a police officer following a disturbance at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell over the weekend has been identified.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified the teenager, who was critically injured, as Syere Littlefield of College Park. The Cobb County Police Department says he has been charged with Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime, Possession of a Firearm Under 18 and Interference with Government Property.
Once he has been released from the hospital, he will be arrested, according to CCPD.
The shooting happened on March 2 on a service road near the theme park.
What led to the shooting
According to the GBI, CCPD was called in to assist with crowd control near the park's entrance after several fights had taken place among patrons who were leaving the park.
At some point, multiple people began shooting, hitting an unoccupied CCPD patrol car.
Police officers began chasing the suspected shooters into the woods. During the chase, an officer fired his weapon, hitting Littlefield.
A gun was found near the teenager, according to the GBI.
RELATED: 15-year-old suspect shot after chaos at Six Flags renews youth gun violence concerns
FOX 5 Atlanta received multiple videos showing groups of teenagers fighting. FOX 5 also received video where multiple gunshots could be heard off-camera.
No officers were injured during the incident.
Six Flags Over Georgia issues statement
Six Flags Over Georgia issued a statement after the shooting saying, in part:
"Our goal is to provide safe, fun entertainment. We employ state of the art security systems and metal detection, maintain a robust and vigilant Public Safety Department, and have strong support from Cobb County Police who are present both inside and outside the park. Every guest is expected to follow our strict code of conduct and anyone unwilling to follow that code of conduct is unwelcome."
They emphasized that the shooting took place on the South Service Road that is not owned or operated by Six Flags.
The theme park's opening weekend in 2023 was also marred by a string of fights inside the park. A large group of teens also had to be removed from the park last year during opening weekend.
Theme parks implement policies for teens
In recent years, many theme parks across the United States have implemented policies revolving around teenagers in an effort to avoid fights and guarantee the safety of their guests.
For example, some parks don't allow guests who are under the age of 15 without a chaperone who is at least 21 years old. Those parks include Kings Island in Ohio, Great America in California, Carowinds in Charlotte, Worlds of Fun in Kansas City and Knott's Berry Farm in California.
Other parks "strongly recommend" that minors under 18 be accompanied by an adult. Those include Cedar Point in Cleveland and Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon. Both Disneyland and DisneyWorld require guests under 14 to be accompanied by another guest who is 14 and older.
Six Flags Over Georgia does not appear to have any policies related to chaperones.
The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Once complete, the case file will be given to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office for review.