Agencies Stop Possible Gang Fight at Fair

November 13, 2017

The quick actions of the Tallahassee Police Department and Leon County Sheriff’s Office stopped a potential gang fight and got a gun off the streets of Tallahassee on Friday night. TPD and LCSO officers working at the North Florida Fair were alerted to a possible gang related fight by a fair patron and began to watch the group of approximately 60 juveniles. The group was pushing their way through the crowds at the fair, causing a disturbance. The officers and deputies made contact with several of the juveniles before they could begin a fight, and began to escort three (3) of them from the property for causing a public disturbance.

The three (3) juveniles were issued verbal trespass warnings as they were escorted off the property but one of the juveniles, later identified as Ahmaud Chandler, pulled away from the TPD officer who was escorting him and began to walk back towards the fairgrounds. The TPD officer immediately stopped Mr. Chandler by grabbing his arm but as he did so, Mr. Chandler reached for a gun in his left front pocket. Due to the quick actions of the TPD officer, he was able to stop him from getting the gun and possibly harming the innocent bystanders who were in the area. Mr. Chandler was quickly taken to the ground and put in handcuffs. Once the gun was safely recovered by the officers, he was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm and several other charges. Mr. Chandler was transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center for Processing.

Chief Michael J. DeLeo said, “Due to the quick actions of our officer, a dangerous gun is off the streets of Tallahassee. I commend the quick work of both my officers and LCSO, as we continue to make Tallahassee and Leon County a safer place for all of us to live, work and play.”

Sheriff McNeil stated, "This is another example of these two agencies working together to prevent what could have been a tragedy. The safety of our citizens is our top priority and I would like to thank all of our law enforcement professionals for putting their lives on the line daily to protect our community."

A copy of the probable cause affidavit is attached to this release, please see it for details (PDF).

Contact Information

Michael J. DeLeo, Tallahassee Police Department, 891-4200 or Walt McNeil, Leon County Sheriff's Office, 606-3300

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