Brentwood Police say that hundreds of teens gathered at local shopping centers on Friday, leading to multiple fights that ultimately left many businesses locking their doors and closing early. Officers arrested five teens.
Witnesses said the group of teens went between two local shopping centers: the Streets of Brentwood and Sand Creek Crossing, which is across the street.
Police said they first responded at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday and found a group of people under the age of 18 assembled there for what police called a “preplanned gathering.”
Many people reported seeing a flyer circulating on social media telling people to show up there.
Brentwood Police said the gathering of teens continued to grow, reaching more than 300 people. A press release from the department said the teens, “reportedly arrived in ride-share vehicles or other means of transportation from outside the area.”
Witnesses told NBC Bay Area they saw some of these teens getting in fights with one another in the parking lot. Police said that some participants in this gathering also entered businesses, knocking items off the shelves.
Workers at multiple nearby businesses said groups of teens came into their stores and took merchandise, or attempted to do so. Many businesses said they locked their doors and closed early for the day.
Tiffany Testa of Brentwood said it was a scary experience for her daughter, who was working at the time at The Streets of Brentwood. Testa said her neighbor was working at a nearby business then as well.
“My daughter described it, and she said there was a lot of people, and my neighbor too, she was really bothered by it,” Testa said.
Police said the gathering became “destructive and disruptive,” and officers, with the assistance of other local law enforcement agencies, ordered everyone to leave the property and the surrounding streets.
Police said they arrested four teens for misdemeanor violations, and a fifth teen was arrested for battery of an officer. All five were cited and released to their parents, the department said.
The department also said officers stopped a car with their weapons drawn, as the driver reportedly had a gun. However, no firearms were found, and police didn’t arrest anyone there.
Lieutenant Miguel Aguiar with Brentwood Police said that someone deployed pepper spray on the teens, though he couldn’t confirm whether the person who did that was a police officer or private security.
One Brentwood mom, who didn’t want to be identified, said after the incident Friday, she will be telling her kids not to hang out in the area.
“Usually, I let them go hang out with their friends over there where the movie [theater] and stuff are, but now I’m a little iffy about it because of what happened here,” she said.
Saturday, Brentwood Police were stationed at both shopping centers monitoring the area. They are asking anyone with information on what happened or video of the events to get in contact with them.
The teens were in the area for hours, witnesses said. Some reported seeing groups of teens in the area as late as 10 p.m. Friday night.
Source: NBC Bay Area
Be First to Comment