DENVER — Denver7 is following up after receiving countless messages from concerned parents and neighbors about a gathering that involved hundreds of teens at a Denver shopping center on Sunday.
According to the Denver Police Department, roughly 300 teenagers were present near The Shops at Northfield on Sunday around 6 p.m. The police department called the gathering a "planned event" that was "reportedly organized by juveniles."
Police told Denver7 the group entered different businesses and "engaged in physical altercations among themselves."
Officers arrived to disperse the group in order to prevent "further escalation," according to Denver PD. Some teenagers broke into smaller groups, disturbing the area of Central Park Boulevard and 46th Street.
Tyre McKay told Denver7 he was hoping to watch Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday evening. He missed the game because of what he saw happening outside the restaurant.
"You see more kids come, and then more, and more, and more. And, I mean, before you know it, it was hundreds of kids," McKay said. "You had kids fighting, you had kids running, kids doing burnouts in a parking lot. I mean, you see guns... it was insane. I've never seen — I've seen fights, of course, we all grew up, we've seen fights — but I've never seen anything like that."
McKay said he, along with a handful of other adults, rushed into the crowd to try and separate the teens who were fighting.
"It was pure violence. I mean, and it wasn't just from the young men. It was the young ladies. It was everybody," McKay explained. "I saw a kid get hit over the head with a bottle. I saw a little girl getting jumped on by 15 boys and girls, and she, by the time we got all of the kids off of her, she was unconscious and barely recognizable. It was insane."
Zandria Holliday, 14, said that was not what she was expecting when she arrived at the shopping center on Sunday. The teenager said some of her mutual friends had seen the gathering advertised on social media and wanted to attend.
"I didn't think it would get to the point that it did," Holliday said.
At first, Holliday said it was a fairly uneventful afternoon. Then, things went downhill.
"I just saw everybody running away from all the chaos sometimes, or going to the chaos, but I didn't really follow it," said Holliday. "We were trying to stay away from the crowd. So everywhere the crowd went, we would go the opposite way."
She and her friends successfully kept their distance from the group, something her mother was proud to hear.
"I know she's got a really good head on her shoulders. Her and her friends, they stay out of trouble. So, you know, I trusted her to be okay, but it's just scary," said Holliday's mother, Whitnie Carroll. "I don't want to have to keep my kids inside, you know. They should be able to enjoy their summer."
Joel Hodge began fielding calls from concerned community members on Sunday night. As the co-founder and program director for the Struggle of Love Foundation, he works to combat youth violence.
"We want them to understand that we want you to come home safe. We want you to come home in one piece," Hodge said, sending a message to the teens. "We've got a long summer ahead of us, right?"
Hodge has seen plans for future similar events on social media.
"Whoever the organizer is has power, and they can bring a bunch of youth together. And so if we can, you know, kind of collaborate with the organizer, maybe we can turn this event into something positive," Hodge said. "I'm hoping that we can get in touch with them before these dates, and maybe we could change it to a safe event."
A DPD spokesperson told Denver7 they are aware of similar, upcoming events in the area and "will plan accordingly to try to minimize the impact of these events."
McKay, who was still processing what he saw within the crowd of teenagers, believes there must be some kind of solution that can create a safe summer.
"My heart bleeds for these kids. It kind of breaks for these kids," McKay said. "My heart breaks for the kids. It breaks for our community. This was embarrassing because a lot of these kids do come from good families and good homes, and to be caught up and wrapped up into this kind of foolishness and nonsense is — it's embarrassing. What is the solution? I may not have all the answers. In fact, I don't have all the answers, but I think collectively, we could come up with something, and that's where my mind's at right now."
No damage was reported, and no arrests were made. Denver police said there was a theft report made for two small items at one business, but it is not clear if that was connected to the group of teenagers.
