Arizona brass knuckles ban proposed by teen and his mom after Gilbert In-N-Out attack

GILBERT, Ariz. - A Chandler mother and her teen son are pushing for lawmakers to ban brass knuckles in Arizona after she says her son was attacked outside a Gilbert restaurant by someone who was using them.

"When I heard about the Preston Lord case … it was devastating and immediately brought back Connor's incident," Stephanie Jarnagan said.

She's talking about Dec. 30, 2022, when her son was attacked in the parking lot of an In-N-Out in Gilbert.

"We were waiting for another friend," Connor said. "We were approached by 10–12 guys and at first, they were commenting that my car was nice and were friendly, then one demanded $20. I said ‘no,’ and then one of them said, ‘The keys are in his car, get his car.'"

Connor stood in his way and said he was then hit in the head.

"What we found out is he was hit in the head with brass knuckles and he immediately felt blood gushing down his back. We went to the emergency room and spent three hours and had to have his head stapled," Stephanie said.

Because of this incident, they want to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else. Connor has written to legislators hoping to get a bill for a statewide brass knuckles ban.

"Why do we need brass knuckles in our community? There is no need other than violence," Connor said.

Recently, he received some help in his effort.

Arizona State Senator John Kavanagh has agreed to work with him on drafting a bill. Stephanie and Connor are hoping something positive can come from their experience.

"We're really excited to work with him and go through this process with him," Connor said.

The person who police say did this was 16 years old, arrested, charged and spent time in juvenile detention.