MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mayor A C Wharton called the latest mob attack involving a group of more than 30 teens unacceptable.
He and an employee at the gas station said they are taking action to stop this outrageous violence.
That entire attack was caught on camera.
The video showed a man trying to help a woman get to her car.
She later told WREG that she had been scared of the large group of teens in the parking lot.
As the good samaritan walked the woman to her car, the teens from Northwest Prep Academy attacked.
“I think that if parents would discipline they kids a little more, then a whole lot of this stuff wouldn`t be happening,” said customer George Newby.
“What they were doing happened in the middle of the day, it`s not about curfew violations, that`s just dead wrong no matter when it occurs and they should be held accountable,”said Mayor A C Wharton.
Since that attack, more police officers have been seen patrolling the area and that’s something Mayor A C Wharton said was the key to addressing teen violence.
“We’ll be working with the school system to see what can be done to make sure that there`s additional patrolling in that area particularly at the time children are coming to and from school,” he said.
Employees at the gas station said they are also cracking down on who can come in and out of this store.
A sign recently placed on the window says ‘No Students.’
A parent who didn’t want to give us her name said her daughter was turned away when she tried to buy something.
“So I knew it had to do something with the kids. Were probably disrupting the gas station or something,” she said.
Some people WREG spoke with said it`s unfortunate that out of control teens messed it up for others.
“Everybody’s supposed to have the opportunity to shop but if I own a business and you was hurting my business, it could be students or adults, I couldn’t allow you in my business,” Newby replied.
Some said seeing a stronger police presence in the area made all the difference, and they hope to see more officers, not just when crime gets bad, but all year around.
Mayor Wharton said the city is also working with juvenile court to address these issues.
Police have not released any information about arrests at this time.
They’re asking the public to give them a call if they have any information.
