"It was shock and chaos," a local police officer said of the March 21 party
Credit: FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth/Youtube
NEED TO KNOW
- A Texas mansion has been damaged after a social media-advertised party drew 500-800 teens and young adults on Saturday, March 21
- The property was booked on Airbnb, and the owners told a local outlet that a booking was made for “seven people”
- Celina Chief of Police John Cullison said the party ended with multiple gunshots and two arrests
A simple Airbnb booking at a property in Texas turned out to be the venue for a huge party for hundreds of teens in Celina.
Local Chief of Police John Cullison said the March 21 bash was advertised on social media and resulted in between 500 and 800 teens and young adults showing up to the location, per a Celina Police Department Facebook post.
The owners of the mansion said the people who made the booking for the short-term rental on Airbnb lied to them. "Somebody booked it, saying they needed the property for a party of seven people," Kishore Karlapudi told FOX 4 News.
Karlapudi also told CBS News Texas that he was unaware of plans for a party at the property and that the home allows for no more than 20 people inside.
Credit: Celina Police Department Facebook
"We were totally shocked, and they damaged the property, you know. They took all the furniture out from the living space, and they put it in the garage,” Karlapudi told FOX 4 News. “They took all the wall fixtures, everything out. They broke the wall fixture … the island was broken. The granite countertop was broken because it looks like kids danced on those.”
"It looks like a group of people put together the party, and it may have been generated for revenue, but I think even the event organizers would agree it grew out of control," Cullison told CBS News.
The party ended with gunshots and two arrests, according to Cullison.
“One individual was arrested for Driving Under the Influence (minor), and another was taken into custody on an active Aggravated Assault warrant out of Dallas County Sheriff’s Office,” Cullison said, per the Facebook post.
Cullison added that as the crowd at the party began to disperse, “multiple gunshots were heard in the vicinity of the residence.”
“Police immediately responded, entered the home, and conducted a thorough search to locate any potential victims. I want to emphasize that, despite the alarming nature of the situation, officers did not locate any individuals injured as a result of gunfire,” he said.
Cullison told FOX 4 News that police also received a call saying that there were 10 men at the front gate of the property, “and they had guns, and they were threatening to kill someone.”
“This of course amped our officers up just a bit to make sure we go inside and keep everybody safe," Cullison added to the outlet. "But it wasn’t until they went inside and they actually realized how vast this party was."
Once inside, officers found damage and blood stained bed sheets and towels, according to Cullison. "It's shock and chaos," he told CBS News.
"We had shots fired. We had assaults. We had people threatening to kill people. We have bloody sheets on location. All these things are just an incredibly bad mixture that can end up in your child getting hurt," Cullison told FOX 4 News, adding that partygoers ranged from 15 to 25 years old and they were from other areas of Texas.
Police dashcam footage provided to the outlet shows officers running into the party as crowds of teens were running out.
Cullison went on to say that the party highlights “the very real risks and dangers associated with large, unsupervised gatherings, especially when fueled through social media and potentially involving underage alcohol or substance abuse,” per the Facebook post.
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“As both your Chief of Police and a parent, I strongly encourage parents in our community to use this incident as a catalyst for having open and direct conversations with their sons and daughters about personal responsibility, wise decision making, and the dangers that can quickly intensify in such environments,” he concluded.
An investigation into the party is ongoing, per Cullison.
The property has been removed from Airbnb for two weeks while the damage is repaired, Karlapudi told CBS News Texas. The four-bedroom home in the 800 block of Choate Parkway is listed by the Collin County Appraisal District as part of a $7.6 million property spanning 18 acres, per the outlet.
PEOPLE reached out to Airbnb for comment and the Celina Police Department for an update on the investigation, but they did not immediately respond.
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