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🔫 Reports surfaced of individuals in military uniforms allegedly firing weapons and drinking at Crab Island on May 17th.
📱 Videos and photos shared on social media show the group, reportedly from the 6th Ranger Training Battalion, engaging in the activity.
📣 The City of Fort Walton Beach publicly stated the incident was not affiliated with the Billy Bowlegs Festival.
We’re looking into allegations made on social media after Billy Bowlegs events on Crab Island.
Here’s what we know so far.
On Saturday, May 17th, before a mock naval battle to celebrate the Billy Bowlegs in Fort Walton Beach, a group of people in military uniform, with military-style boats and weapons, arrived at Crab Island.
Tourists and locals at Crab Island took pictures and videos of members of the group, who they say were members of the 6th Ranger Training Battalion, drinking alcohol and shooting their weapons.
Later on Saturday, Fort Walton Beach posted what they called a ‘clarification’ that insisted that the shooting had nothing to do with the Billy Bowlegs celebration. It read, in part, “What happened at Crab Island was NOT part of the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival, NOR was it approved by either the City of Fort Walton Beach or the Billy Bowlegs organization.”
Several calls came into the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office between 2:54 and 3:18 on Saturday afternoon, alerting the Sheriff’s Office of shots fired on or near Crab Island.
We’ve reached out to Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard, Army, Eglin Air Force Base and other groups with potential involvement with the situation or responding to the issue. We will update the story as it develops.
