Six boys identified as taking part in fights or vandalism during Aurora’s latest “teen takeover” near Del Mar Park in August are expected to face criminal charges, police announced Monday.
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More arrests may follow as the investigation continues, Aurora Police Department spokesperson Katie Fisher said. Police are still trying to identify several teenagers who damaged or stole from local businesses, or who committed other crimes during the Aug. 30 incident, she said.
Aurora police officers responded to the Hoffman Heights shopping center near East Sixth Avenue and Peoria Street at about 1:30 p.m. Aug. 30, when hundreds of teenagers gathered in the parking lot after an unpermitted basketball event: Quincy’s Community Classic.
Attendees of the back-to-school basketball tournament merged with crowds from the Metro Hoopbus Tour, another basketball event, Aurora police Detective Matt Campbell said during a Monday news conference. Social media influencers showed up after that and, as the increased attention drew more and more people to the area, the event “rapidly devolved,” he said.
“This event was not sanctioned in any capacity,” Campbell said.
Police started receiving 911 calls as the crowd grew, with people reporting road blockages, weapons and fights among teenagers in the crowd, Aurora police Chief Todd Chamberlain said during the news conference.
By the time police arrived, an estimated 750 to 1,000 people had gathered, Chamberlain said. Police previously said most of the crowd was teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17.
The group became an “unlawful gathering” when teens started breaking the law, vandalizing property and stealing merchandise from nearby businesses, including a restaurant and a grocery store, Chamberlain said. Dozens of officers were rerouted from across the city to disperse the crowd and “restore order,” he said.
This was not the first “teen takeover” incident reported in metro Denver. Roughly 300 teenagers gathered at The Shops at Northfield in June, going into businesses and starting fights. The threat of another takeover in Denver’s City Park that month led to an early closure of the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance.
“When you start to have violence, when you start to have property damage, when you start to have community concerns … this is no longer a peaceful event. This is no longer something that can be tolerated,” Chamberlain said.
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As of Monday’s news conference, two teenagers had been arrested and arrest warrants had been submitted for four others, Campbell said. All six of the teenagers identified were boys between the ages of 13 and 17, Fisher said.
Campbell said the charges under investigation include assault, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, theft and injury to property. Police did not identify any of the boys involved or release information on their criminal backgrounds because they are minors.
One of the fights that broke out during the “takeover” left a person unconscious at Del Mar Park, he said. The teenagers involved in that fight are facing assault charges, Campbell said.
“We are not holding a crowd responsible,” Chamberlain said. “We are holding those individuals responsible for their own conduct. … They made that decision to take advantage of a location, of a venue, of a problem and make it much, much worse.”
It’s unclear whether the event organizers, who did not apply for a permit or notify police of the potential crowds, or the social media influencers who exacerbated the incident can be charged. Chamberlain said that it’s still under review by the city attorney.
These incidents “occur quite often,” he said. It’s rare for one of this size and severity to happen in Aurora, though, he said.
“There’s no finger-pointing on this,” Chamberlain said. “This is something that unfortunately unfolded very quickly, but it could have been any city, any jurisdiction.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact investigators at [email protected].
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