{"id":2342,"date":"2026-06-13T11:33:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T11:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342"},"modified":"2026-06-13T11:33:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T11:33:02","slug":"wake-town-defends-putting-police-with-rifles-on-rooftops-for-its-concert-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342","title":{"rendered":"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

The town of Wake Forest pushed back on criticism of its concert series after a downtown business announced Wednesday it would close during any future events.<\/p>\n

Read more Are you having heat stroke? How to tell as Triangle counties face \u2018extreme\u2019 risk<\/a><\/p>\n

B & W Hardware, located on South White Street, wrote in a Facebook post<\/a> that, as a business that does not sell alcohol or food, the town\u2019s \u201cFriday Night on White\u201d events bring more challenges than benefits. Friday Night on White<\/a> brings outdoor concerts to White Street every second Friday from 6 to 9 p.m.<\/p>\n

In its post, B & W Hardware wrote that previous iterations brought property damage, shoplifting and \u201crepeated issues with unruly and intoxicated customers.\u201d The company wrote that there is only a hotline to report issues, and the town told it previously that \u201cwe should be \u2018thankful\u2019 they\u2019re bringing so many people downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting in May, law enforcement began stationing officers with long guns that fire pepper balls on top of our building to respond to potential crowd control incidents,\u201d B & W Hardware wrote. \u201cIf an event requires that level of monitoring and policing, perhaps it\u2019s time to consider a different approach to the event altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several commenters offered their sympathies to B & W Hardware and expressed their concern that Friday Night on White has gotten out of control, with some believing the space on White Street is too small for how many people come to the event.<\/p>\n

In a Facebook post Thursday<\/a>, the town pushed back.<\/p>\n

Wake Forest police got permission from property owners \u201cto position officers atop their businesses with rifles that do not \u2018fire pepper balls.\u2019\u201d Town spokesperson Bill Crabtree told The News & Observer on Friday that the rifles have bullets, not pepper balls.<\/p>\n

The town wrote that the approach \u201cisn\u2019t unique\u201d to Friday Night on White, and law enforcement \u201caround the world\u201d perch officers on rooftops to manage crowds. The town also wrote that it was proud that Friday Night on White, started in 2016, has \u201cnever been more popular\u201d judging by the April and May attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love the fact that so many people from across our community, region, and state enjoy [Friday Night on White]\u2013 and why wouldn\u2019t they?!?!\u201d the town wrote. \u201cThey assemble in our charming downtown on the second Friday of each month from April through September to enjoy the very best bands, sample offerings from the best food trucks, visit with the best sponsors, and explore the very best downtown shops anywhere!\u201d<\/p>\n

In a post ahead of May\u2019s Friday Night on White event<\/a>, the town told attendees to expect more police in downtown and on rooftops, writing that Wake Forest police also positions officers for the July 3 Fireworks Spectacular at Heritage High School. Most comments on the post were appreciative of the increased police presence.<\/p>\n

The town wrote Thursday that all departments involved in planning Friday Night on White meet after each event to discuss what went well and what to improve. It also sends event surveys to attendees, sponsors, and merchants and has made changes based on that feedback.<\/p>\n

Reception to the town\u2019s Thursday post was mixed. Some commenters felt the town\u2019s approach to be adequate and that they felt safe at events. Others felt the response was tone deaf and that the event should not happen if it needs armed officers on rooftops.<\/p>\n

Read more LSU requested legal release over Will Wade. Records show why NC State refused<\/a><\/p>\n

Crabtree told The N&O that officers<\/b> will be able to monitor what is happening in the crowd and respond more quickly. Attendance at Friday Nights on White has ranged from 3,000 to 10,000, Crabtree said, with April and May possibly the best-attended nights in the event\u2019s 10-year history.<\/p>\n

Crabtree said the town has heard some of the issues brought up in B & W Hardware\u2019s post and made changes \u2014 like increasing police presence and placing some officers on rooftops \u2014 based on surveys and post-event meetings.<\/p>\n

When downtown businesses expressed concerns about a large youth presence bringing \u201cobnoxious\u201d behavior, the town created a hotline for businesses to call about any issues and ensure a quick police response, Crabtree said.<\/p>\n

Crabtree said he would not speculate on B & W Hardware\u2019s claim that the town told the company to be thankful for Friday Night on White but said the town respected any business\u2019 decision to close or stay open during the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons that we offer this quality of life event is to increase the awareness that people have of downtown \u2014 [of] what a great downtown it is, what a great number of offerings that the downtown has,\u201d Crabtree said.<\/p>\n

Wake Forest Commissioner Adam Wright said in a Facebook post Thursday that he would include a discussion about Friday Night on White as part of a summit he already planned to figure out how to better support downtown businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Friday Night on White,\u201d Wright wrote. \u201cI also love our downtown businesses. Those two things should not be in conflict. The goal should be making a good event even better, especially for the people who help make downtown Wake Forest worth visiting in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, the town considered an 8 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied teens during Friday Night on White in response to concerns about youth behavior during the event. At the time, several commissioners questioned whether a curfew would be effective for addressing the event\u2019s safety issues.<\/p>\n

The curfew ordinance failed on June 18, 2024. Wright responded to a commenter on his post saying the town instead increased police presence, and his understanding \u201cwas that it largely addressed the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Influencer Mikayla Nogueira Recalls Being Rushed into Emergency Surgery<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 4:13 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wake Forest pushes back after a downtown hardware store criticized Friday Night on White, defending officers put on rooftops to manage crowds during concerts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wake Forest pushes back after a downtown hardware store criticized Friday Night on White, defending officers put on rooftops to manage crowds during concerts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-13T11:33:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T11:33:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342\"},\"wordCount\":993,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/96b77f208be98c664b7bcaf07417e5ec.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342\",\"name\":\"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series - Durham Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/96b77f208be98c664b7bcaf07417e5ec.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T11:33:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/96b77f208be98c664b7bcaf07417e5ec.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/96b77f208be98c664b7bcaf07417e5ec.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":750,\"caption\":\"People old and young alike take to the street and dance to the music as the town of Wake Forest holds Friday Night on White, an outdoor concert series, on Friday, June 10, along South White Street in downtown Wake Forest. The monthly event runs through September. Many towns around the Triangle are trying to become more than bedroom communities and provide something for residents in their own community.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2342#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series - Durham Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series - Durham Moving Hub","og_description":"Wake Forest pushes back after a downtown hardware store criticized Friday Night on White, defending officers put on rooftops to manage crowds during concerts.","og_url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342","og_site_name":"Durham Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-13T11:33:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"headline":"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series","datePublished":"2026-06-13T11:33:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342"},"wordCount":993,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/96b77f208be98c664b7bcaf07417e5ec.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342","name":"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series - Durham Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/96b77f208be98c664b7bcaf07417e5ec.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-13T11:33:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/96b77f208be98c664b7bcaf07417e5ec.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/96b77f208be98c664b7bcaf07417e5ec.jpg","width":1200,"height":750,"caption":"People old and young alike take to the street and dance to the music as the town of Wake Forest holds Friday Night on White, an outdoor concert series, on Friday, June 10, along South White Street in downtown Wake Forest. The monthly event runs through September. Many towns around the Triangle are trying to become more than bedroom communities and provide something for residents in their own community."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2342#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Wake town defends putting police with rifles on rooftops for its concert series"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/","name":"Durham Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/durhammovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}