Raleigh to draft juvenile curfew after July Fourth ‘teen takeover’ shootings
The Raleigh City Council unanimously backed the police chief’s request Tuesday for a curfew following a weekend of violence sparked by “teen takeovers” in two different parts of the city.
Police Chief Rico Boyce asked the council for a curfew for those 17 and younger in an effort to combat future teen takeovers like those that led to multiple shootings in Raleigh over the July Fourth weekend.
“We need to start looking at what a curfew looks like here in the capital city,” Boyce told the City Council.
Boyce said 3,000 teens first gathered in the Brier Creek shopping area after a fireworks display on July 4. After they dispersed, he said many of those teens recongregated on Glenwood South, where a series of four shootings took place. He said 8,000 juveniles were in the city’s nightlife district, an increase from an initial estimate of 5,000.
He said 300 police officers responded. They made 29 arrests, filed four juvenile petitions and seized 11 firearms.
The City Council instructed the city attorney Tuesday to start writing a curfew ordinance. The earliest the council could review it is at its Aug. 18 meeting, after a summer break.
The ordinance has to be worded so that it does not infringe on people’s rights, Cowell said, but added “under Raleigh city code ... I can as mayor enact emergency measures and pass an ordinance.”
And she’s “absolutely willing to do that in the interim” if needed, she said.
There’s precedent for that, city spokesperson Robin Deacle said later, noting a 2020 curfew Raleigh enacted in response to protests after the murder of George Floyd.
Cowell said it will take time for the city attorney’s office to draft the curfew, and after that there will be public notices and hearings on it.
The consensus among city leaders Tuesday was to pull together a task force to help craft the curfew.
Other cities with youth curfews include Greensboro, Greenville and Winston-Salem. Most of them run from 10 or 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Charlotte has a curfew for those under 16, but it affects different age groups differently.
What would the curfew look like?
City Council Member Jonathan Lambert-Melton said the youth curfew needs to be citywide and not just for the Glenwood South nightlife district.
He said he didn’t want to stigmatize a certain area and that a citywide curfew would be easier to enforce. Other council members agreed.
Boyce also wants restrictions on youth carrying backpacks.
“Our hospitality unit [has] encountered multiple groups of juveniles that are carrying backpacks,” he explained. “When we have a legal right to interact with them and get access to that backpack we find that there’s typically a gun or guns in those backpacks.”
He said some jurisdictions have backpack restrictions that are tied to curfews.
How would a curfew be enforced
Council Member Megan Patton asked what enforcing a curfew would look like.
Different police departments enforce them differently, Boyce said.
Some departments enforce curfews based on how old someone looks. Some only stop young people when they see a separate, potential crime happening; curfew enforcement is secondary.
Boyce said his department would not stop people based on an appearance of youth.
Council member Mitchell Silver asked how the police department would avoid racially profiling people in the enforcement of a curfew.
Boyce said that when dealing with youth, officers always contact an adult first.
Council Member Corey Branch said that whatever the council passes, he wants to make sure it has “teeth” and that enforcement isn’t always just “catch and release.”
He referenced North Carolina truancy laws that allow the state to prosecute parents for the school absences of their children.
Branch also said he wants to look at exceptions for youth who work jobs that might be impacted by a potential curfew.
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Raleigh to draft juvenile curfew after July Fourth ‘teen takeover’ shootings."
