A 16-year-old from Haines City faces multiple felony charges for allegedly shooting another teenager at a strongly promoted social media gathering on Clearwater Beach.
Noel Marsh III was taken into custody Monday night at his home in Polk County. Authorities have charged him with attempted second-degree murder, firing a firearm in public, and illegal possession of a firearm by a juvenile. Marsh is presently being held at the Polk County Jail and has refused to speak with detectives.
The shooting occurred around 5:15 p.m. Sunday in the 100 block of Coronado Drive during what online flyers termed a “Link Up” or “teen takeover”. According to Clearwater Police, an argument broke out between two familiar groups, escalating a month-long dispute that originally began in Winter Haven over social media and party-related rivalries.
Marsh allegedly fired seven shots during the argument. The 17-year-old victim was hit in the leg, arm, and chest. He was transported to Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“This senseless act of violence occurred between two groups known to one another,” Clearwater Deputy Police Chief Michael Walek said during a media briefing. “We are fortunate that the victim or bystanders were not killed in gunfire.”
Walek noted that the event’s promotional materials explicitly told attendees to bring water and umbrellas while banning alcohol, firearms, and unsupervised minors. However, authorities stated that a sizable section of the audience came from outside Pinellas County, including Hillsborough and Polk.
Law police had been monitoring social media messages for days and had deployed more resources to the beach. Following the shooting, cops detained many people. A separate 17-year-old from Brandon was arrested after fleeing the scene; he faces charges of resisting an officer without violence, unlawful carry of a concealed firearm, and possession of a firearm by a minor.
“I want to be crystal clear about one thing: this kind of reckless and criminal behaviour will not be tolerated on Clearwater Beach or anywhere in our city,” Walek stated. “You will not come to our city, take it over, or mess around.”
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri echoed the stance on future gatherings, stating, “This was the first weekend of summer break for a lot of these kids, and this is the last weekend this nonsense will happen.”
Since late 2025, the Clearwater Police Department’s threat management team has documented 11 potential takeover events, with the majority of them successfully prevented or resolved. Following rumours of a second beach gathering on Monday, Clearwater police and Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies heavily increased their presence in the area.
Neighbouring agencies, including the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, set up extra units around Wesley Chapel businesses on Monday as a precaution against similar social media gatherings, though no big problems or arrests were recorded.
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