All-night Christian youth event in Texas halted because of misbehavior

Typhoon Texas Waterpark, a new recreational venue located in Katy, was shut down temporarily on the night of June 10 when the attendees of a private Christian event became too rowdy to control.

"Last night a private event was held at Typhoon Texas as planned by a third party. When our code of conduct policies were violated by some attendees with the group, action was taken to prevent accidents and keep guests safe, and the park was closed," the park's official statement on Saturday reads. "Our staff and cleaning crews worked throughout the night to get the park ready for normal operations. Typhoon Texas is open today and ready for safe, clean, family fun. We put those values before ALL else."

Called the All-Night Youth Lock-In, the event was open to the first 3,000 guests who were to be "locked in" at the venue from 10:30 p.m. until 6:30 the following morning. The flyers posted on NewsFix show that there were to be all-night rides, music from bands and DJs, and food.

However, some of the teens got out of control and would not listen to the lifeguards. One attendee told Click2Houston that people were stampeding and throwing tubes, and there were allegedly some who were smoking marijuana.

Police had to be called to the scene, but people reportedly got rowdier when more police came and announced that the park would be shutting down. Attendees were asked to leave, and the place was closed by around 1:30 a.m. 

Bernard Kaplan, spokesperson for the venue, said there were an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people, but this was well below the park's overall capacity.

"This was not a capacity issue. This was not a security issue. This was a misconduct issue," Kaplan told NewsFix. "Just basic misbehavior- it's running, it's not listening to lifeguards, it's climbing too many people in the lazy river, really, just not listening to instruction. Obviously, there were a lot of people here, but we took the measures that we did, to avoid any further problems, and that was closing the park. We have no reports of injuries, or arrests at this time."

Some of teens, forced to go out into the night without adult supervision and with no ride home, reportedly went around Katy doing mischief.

Typhoon Texas Waterpark opened only May 28, two weeks before the incident.