COVINGTON, Ga. – One arrest has been made as a result of an incident that took place during the city of Covington’s Fourth of July festivities.

Officers with the Covington Police Department (CPD) arrested 20-year old Dante Sylvester of Covington on one count of disorderly conduct after he allegedly threw fireworks in the middle of a large crowd on the Covington Square.

According to a narrative from the CPD, the responding officer heard a loud explosion in front of Scoops Ice Cream. After the explosion, the officer said that he saw fireworks “flying in all directions within the crowd” causing over 30 people to run into each other. 

When the officer went to investigate, he encountered a group of males. This included one “slim built subject” wearing a black hoodie, white and black backpack and a ski mask. 

Sylvester was also identified in the narrative with a clothing description of a white T-shirt and gray sweat shorts on the corner of the Lula Building at Church and College Avenue. The officer reportedly saw Sylvester reach into the backpack of the first male and pull out a “roman candle type firework.”

When the officer approached the group of males, both Sylvester and the male with the backpack fled the area. The officer attempted to catch the suspect with the backpack, but lost him in the large crowd.

Upon searching for the backpack suspect, the officer spotted Sylvester in front of Axe Town. This led to a foot chase where Sylvester reportedly stepped on and pushed several innocent bystanders. 

Eventually, Sylvester ran into another officer and was placed in handcuffs and transported to the Newton County Jail.

As Sylvester was transported, two more fireworks explosions were set off with males “fleeing the scene,” according to the narrative. 

It is not clear if the other suspects have been identified or arrested. The Covington News has reached out for further clarification.

The Covington Police Department released a statement on July 5 condemning the actions of Sylvester and others who disrupted the event.

“Last night's July 4th Independence in the Park fireworks celebration was a spectacular event to see. Unfortunately during the annual celebration on the square, groups of unsupervised teenagers committed reckless acts that were causing others to panic and run in fear,” according to a statement from the CPD.  “Our department made several arrests at the event and made many leave the event because of their behavior. There were no injuries reported initially from the incidents that occurred, but many left early in fear of the actions of those in these crowds.”

“After each major event in our community, city department representatives meet to discuss multiple logistical issues of that event. The most important aspect of each event is obviously our patrons safety. The security concerns that occurred during the event will be discussed in detail to help enhance our safety protocols moving forward.”

City of Covington council member Travis Moore told the public in a social media post replying to the city’s statement that there are plans in place to evaluate the city’s public safety procedures during large events.

“We would like to inform you that a work session has been scheduled for August. During this session, we will bring in command staff and public safety officials,” Moore said via a social media post. “Public safety is our number one concern. We have taken note of the recent incident. In our upcoming meeting, we will work together to develop solutions to prevent such incidents from happening again. Covington Police did an excellent job with this size of crowd.”