DENVER — Two community youth advocates are calling on the community to get involved in finding solutions to keep teens productive and out of mischief this summer, following a planned teen meet-up event at a Denver shopping center that turned violent Sunday.
Denver7 reported on the incident on Monday after receiving countless messages from concerned parents and neighbors. Now, we're hearing about some solutions to prevent further incidents.
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 police. Some teenagers broke into smaller groups, disturbing the area of Central Park Boulevard and 46th Street.
Denver
Teen describes meetup near Shops at Northfield that led to police response
Witnesses reported seeing teens entering businesses, knocking merchandise over, and wreaking havoc.
“It was basically an anarchy club, for lack of a better word. It was set up for fights and other disturbances,” said Jason McBride, founder and executive director of McBride Impact, a nonprofit focused on youth programs. “This had been planned for weeks… It was on social media for weeks. I think even the police had wind of it. These are angry, frustrated kids who are now taking their futures in their own hands and saying, ‘Hey, we're going to do whatever we want to do.'”
McBride has worked as a youth violence intervention specialist for more than a decade and said this is a part of a nationwide trend.
“This is something that has been happening all over the country — New York, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Philly, down south," McBride said. "This is just the trend for these young people, these kinds of organized melee, Fight Club, anarchy things happening all over the country. So, we have to do better in getting kids the things that they need to flourish as young people."
McBride said parents and kids must take accountability for their actions, but city and state leaders should also take accountability for the lack of opportunities for youth.
“We blame the kids. We blame the parents. We blame organizations like mine, who are working with kids, for not doing enough. But I think we haven't blamed who really needs to be held accountable for this, and those are the policymakers," McBride said. "These are the people who have removed funding from youth programs, especially for the summer youth employment programs, places for these kids to be and go and have fun, express themselves in the summer."
McBride said something must be done to keep teens engaged in positive ways.
“Somebody's going to get hurt seriously. I know there was a little girl who was jumped by both boys and girls, and she was in the hospital. I'm not sure of her condition right now, but it was pretty serious that happened here... at the Northfield event,” McBride said. “You're hearing so many organizations and people saying, 'Hey, let's reach out to these kids.' And I think that is a good strategy. Some people are saying some of these kids that are involved in this are not going to come to the table. That doesn't matter. Let's talk to the kids who come to the table.”
Shana Shaw, founder of Compound of Compassion, has worked for years to set up Safe Zone events on Friday nights during the summer months to offer positive activities for teens.
“A Safe Zone is a place that youth created, for youth by youth. It is basically a large kickback, where kids are coming, they're face painting, they're playing video games, there's a DJ, there's music, there's food, there's all kinds of things. What they don't know is that it's saturated in the protective factors. So, they're actually learning a skill set at the same time, how to identify trusted adults, building concrete supports, and learning what happens to their cognitive development as adolescents,” Shaw said. “We do them mid-afternoon, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and we'd like to extend them. Actually, next year, our young adult group is talking about extending them later in the evening.”
Shaw said what happened at the Shops at Northfield was unfortunate, and it’s a symptom of a bigger problem.
“These were not at-risk youth. These were youth who were looking for a place to gather, and they created that place for themselves. What would have happened if we would have joined in and met them where they were and joined in with them to create that space as a safe space, and being able to monitor and de-escalate some of the things that actually happened?” Shaw said.
Shaw said that’s exactly what she is trying to do with Safe Zones.
“I would invite the community, the kids, the 300 kids that showed up here, to come to this space and see if it feels a little different,” Shaw said.
The next Safe Zone is Friday, June 27, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Thunder Ridge Middle School.
A Denver Police Department 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."
Don Cloutier, general manager of The Shops at Northfield, issued the following statement: "The safety of our guests, retailers, and employees remains our top priority at The Shops at Northfield. We were made aware of a potential gathering earlier in the week via a social media post and, out of caution, increased security and coordinated with local authorities ahead of time. We are thankful for our partnership with Denver PD and will continue to proactively address potential issues related to unsupervised youth. Our goal is to maintain a safe and welcoming shopping environment for everyone at The Shops at Northfield.”
