Teen violence: Gilbert PD releases new reports on crimes against the East Valley's youth
GILBERT, Ariz. - We're learning more about teen violence in the East Valley as Gilbert Police released new documents in the case of an attack at an In-N-Out.
It's one of several teen-on-teen attacks under investigation in Gilbert, Chandler and Queen Creek.
One of the police reports says on Aug. 18, 2023, a teenager was walking with his friend when they joined another group of teenagers in a parking lot near In-N-Out and one of the males told him to leave.
"A male approximately from the ages of 17 to 22, wearing a blue shirt and light blue Chargers hat, punched him in the face. Went down and saw another closed fist, punched him in the face again, but believed it was from another person since it was so fast. Then turned and ran since he was outnumbered," the police report read.
The teen victim in this case, as well as his mother, are not being identified in this story.
"Hearing families outright deny that their child had any involvement, specifically as it pertains to our son, any involvement in that violent attack on him, which is a blatant lie," the teen's mother said.
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The teen's mom calls the road to justice frustrating.
"I've also heard comments, ‘Well, my child is still very young, so they have the opportunity to turn their lives around and change and do better.’ Well, that’s great, you can celebrate that, but what of the victims? What of the things that they’ve done to other people that is senseless and unprovoked and should never have happened? What about their lives?" she said.
Gilbert Police have also released other reports that seemed to lead up to the attack at In-N-Out.
On Aug. 9, the same victim's family called the police for fear of their son getting jumped. On Aug. 14, the victim's family again called the police after the father said multiple teens were outside their house and had threatened his son over Snapchat.
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The report from an officer stated they "were messaging about doing sexually explicit things with a female, calling each other’s explicit names, trash, talking about each others' vehicles and talking about fighting each other. While reviewing the messages, I read a message from (redacted) to the group stating, ‘pull up right now. I’ll (expletive) you up.'"
In one screenshot from Snapchat, the officer says someone was holding up a handgun and told him to "watch his back" and said, "If you want me to threaten, I can threaten."
No arrests were made by the Gilbert Police Department.