Local: Teen mob behind Halloween mayhem.
Police investigating crime spree that broke out at the amusement park’s 10th Annual Halloween Haunt
SANTA CLARA » The fallout continued Monday from mob violence at California’s Great America that saw scores of people assaulted, robbed, or fleeing for the exits over the weekend as police tallied a growing number of victims and park operators hustled to mount a response.
As of Monday morning, Santa Clara police had taken at least 20 reports from the crime spree that may have involved as many as 20 teens punching and in some cases using stun guns on patrons attending the park’s 10th annual Halloween Haunt.
Police Lt. Dan Moreno said as of Monday afternoon, the Saturday night skirmishes yielded reports of 15 thefts — ranging from strong-arm robberies to purse snatchings and the like — four assaults, and one public-intoxication case.
Just one member of the teen mob was arrested, a minor booked on suspicion of theft. Park visitors reported seeing other suspects elude capture by getting into waiting cars.
“I have never seen something
like this at Great America where there were this many thefts in such a short time,” said Moreno, who has policed Santa Clara for 28 years.
That was echoed by Dennis Speigel, president of the consulting firm International Theme Park Services.
“I don’t know of any case like this,” he said. “Certainly not of a recent time. Of course this happened during Halloween, which amplifies the problem because of the costumes.”
Santa Clara police said the mayhem broke out about 10:30 p.m. Saturday at Halloween Haunt, which helped attract upward of 20,000 visitors to the park; the weekend before Halloween is typically the busiest of the year for the October festivities.
Investigators believe that a group of between 15 and 20 teen boys were responsible for the attacks, robberies, and thefts, but have not determined how they were affiliated.
“They were organized in the sense that they all agreed to or know what they were doing,” Moreno said, adding that the payoff of increasingly expensive smartphones has emboldened thieves in general. “You have teenagers with $800 phones in their hands, creating the temptation to knock it to the ground.”
Victims and patrons reported encountering groups of robbers, some armed with stun guns, who weaved through crowds stealing mobile phones, purses, and backpacks. Some panicked visitors even tried to scale park fences.
Moreno said six people were treated at the scene for assorted minor injuries including bloodied noses, bumps, bruises and scrapes. Two teens, a boy and a girl, were taken to local hospitals by their parents for precautionary evaluation.
When the violence surfaced, four Santa Clara police officers were on hand working private security jobs, and 15 additional Santa Clara officers were called in. An employee working one of the event’s haunted mazes said Saturday night appeared to have attracted unruly elements from the start.
“There were an awful lot of morons in the park that night based on who was coming through the maze,” Elizabeth Finkler said. “Then our supervisors told (us) there was a mob going around.
She added: “It was just hell on wheels.”
“It was terrible,” said a San Francisco mom who had brought her 17-year-old daughter and a friend to the haunt. “A kid in a hoodie ran up and pried the phone out of my hands.”
A brief statement from the park’s operator, Cedar Fair Entertainment, did not go into detail about the incident, but said the attacks yielded a swift response.
“There were incidents on October 28 at California’s Great America that required assistance from on property Santa Clara police officers and were quickly addressed,” the statement reads. “The safety of our guests is our top priority.”
Park officials did not close down the Halloween Haunt, police said. But a source familiar with the park response told this news organization that once the attacks were made known to officials, park lights were turned on and sound was turned down in certain areas of the park, and select attractions were closed.
“My understanding is that my officers could have benefited from more light,” he said.
Even so, police and park security were outnumbered, visitors reported.
The park remained open until its normal 1 a.m. closing time Sunday.
“There were an awful lot of morons in the park that night based on who was coming through the maze. Then our supervisors told (us) there was a mob going around. —Elizabeth Finkler, employee
Speigel said the events reported at Great America “happen so infrequently” that judging the park’s response is challenging given the lack of available benchmarks.
“They’re dealt with throughout the industry on a case-by-case basis. There isn’t one rule that says you shut down the whole park,” Speigel said. “You have thousands upon thousands of people who may want to have a good time who may be unaffected by a situation like this.”
He added that park operators must prioritize transparency with the public and patrons to maintain its viability as an amusement destination.
“In our industry, our parks live on repeat visitation,” Speigel said.
Speigel did note that Cedar Fair has a good reputation for responding to unfavorable incidents and spending money to make requisite improvements.
“Knowing the Cedar Fair management team, they will take steps to to make sure something of this type never happens again,” he said.
Sunday was the final day of the Halloween Haunt. No significant bouts of violence or injuries were reported.