Lawmaker Calls For Tough Consequences, Parental Responsibility After Towson Mall Fight That Injured Officers
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Following fights among juveniles at Towson Town Center Saturday night, groups of young people flooded outside.
A worker at a store near the mall described to WJZ what happened next.
"There were swarms of kids running up and down screaming. At one point they were blocking the front of our store and then one of them came in and they tore stuff off the front of our display and went back out and came in and started screaming and then threw a drink at my coworker," she said.
Her store will now begin closing earlier on Friday and Saturday nights for the next few weeks.
Nancy Hafford heads the Towson Chamber of Commerce and wants shoppers to know downtown Towson is a safe place.
"Things do happen once in a while. We're just like any place else, but when they happen everybody responds very, very quickly," Hafford said. "The one thing we have to remember is it was a group of kids. It wasn't anybody bringing in guns or anything like that. It was a bunch of teenagers who got out of hand but the great thing is the mall spends more than $1 million on security and they have cameras all over the place."
Hafford said the chamber has applied for a state grant to add more cameras downtown. Already, she said 65% of buildings are equipped with cameras.
Delegate Kathy Szeliga, a Republican who represents Baltimore and Harford Counties, is advocating for tougher punishments to send a message that this behavior will not be tolerated.
"The youngest is 12 years old, creating mayhem in Towson. They're attacking police officers and security guards. This is not ok," the delegate said. "That is what's lacking today. There is not a lot of will to hold juveniles accountable. We need to turn the tables and start telling juveniles that if you commit crimes you are going to be held accountable because we don't want you turning into a criminal when you're an adult or victimizing someone else. We need to make sure that juveniles are held accountable, and their parents are held accountable."
Police arrested six juveniles and said two officers suffered minor injuries from pepper spray in the incident. A member of mall security was also injured.
