Police beef up security at Brentwood shopping center following teen violence
Brentwood police beef up security at shopping center
Brentwood police beef up security at shopping center, after teen meet-up turned violent last week
BRENTWOOD, Calif. - Brentwood police say Sky Zone Trampoline Park was closed on Friday because of a teen meet-up post on social media. A similar one that led to violence at another shopping center in the area last week. Customers who showed up were caught off guard.
Heightened security presence
What we know:
"I am surprised Sky Zone is closed because I saw on the website that they were going to give out free slurpees," said Jiya Rahimi.
Rahimi and her kids didn't get their Slurpees. Instead, they saw police cars and a drone keeping a watchful eye on the Lone Tree Plaza and Sky Zone, which are inside the shopping center.
"I don't want my kids to get hurt. I am glad the police are here," Rahimi added.
Brentwood Police tell KTVU it beefed up patrols around the plaza Friday because of a post on social media. It was a teen meet-up event.
"Once we received that notification, we wanted to make sure all the community members and visitors were safe. We have quite a presence here. We have a lot of officers here," said Officer Lindzie Laughridge with the Brentwood Police Department.
Teen meet-ups
This comes after a similar online flyer circulated last week. More than 100 teens gathered at another shopping plaza last Friday. Police tell KTVU the incident happened at the Raley's, about two miles from the Sky Zone. Authorities say there were no reports of vandalism but display items were knocked down. Laughridge says fights did break out.
"Things did escalate at some point. We did make a total of five arrests. Luckily no citizens or officers were injured," she added.
Laughridge says this could happen anywhere. So it's important for parents to talk with their kids.
"Engage with your children. Know where they are going. Know what activities they are doing. If it is something you are not sure about, dig a little deeper," she said.
Despite what happened last week, Laughridge who has lived in Brentwood her entire life, says she loves her small town city.
"It was a small community when I was a kid but it still has that small hometown feel. You can go to events and you can feel that small hometown feel with people who just want to have a good time and enjoy themselves," she added.
As of Friday evening, Brentwood Police tell KTVU they did not have any issues or see any activity.
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