AURORA | Following a viral teen takeover event at an Aurora shopping center, police said charges are imminent for several participants.

But no news of potential charges or suspects has been released more than a week after the melee.

About 500 teens gathered at the Hoffman Heights shopping center on the afternoon of Aug. 30, prompted by viral social media posts by accounts with large followings, including streamers Quincy Helsel and Khan Asadi. Some of the crowd ran through nearby businesses, including people who vandalized property and stole merchandise, police said.

Videos of teens running through King Soopers and standing on tables in Burger King went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms. Ultimately, more than 70 police personnel responded to the area. 

Based on social media posts, the gathering seemingly grew out of a community event planned by Helsel, the Quincy Community Classic, to give away free haircuts and school supplies.

The event was originally planned to be at George Washington High School, but had to be relocated when the school canceled the night before, according to another event organizer, DJ Fa Dora, who shared background on the plans on a local podcast with Brother Jeff Fard.

Police said they would have to speculate about how such a large crowd was able to materialize at the shopping center so quickly, but noted that the area is highly populated and one of the busiest intersections in the city. Other contributing factors include a nearby high school and the availability of public transit, including buses and RTD, and microtransit, like scooters.

Mayor Mike Coffman called it an “unfortunate incident” and applauded the police response. Coffman said the city offers a number of programs and spaces for teens, including esports lounges, recreation centers, parks and libraries.

“I do not believe this unfortunate event was a result of lack of programming, but rather, poor judgement that spiraled out of control,” he said.

Coffman said he is in communication with the managers at King Soopers and Burger King to support them. Police do not yet have an estimate for damaged and stolen property.

The growing phenomenon of the so-called takeovers, prompted by social media posts have been reported in cities across the country.

Last year, several hundred teens met up at the Shops at Northfield in a similar pop-up gathering and inspired plans for other takeovers. One planned at Town Center in Aurora prompted police to increase their presence at the mall, according to KDVR, which preempted the meet-up. 

City spokesperson Jennifer Soules said the city was unaware of the Quincy Community Classic event before it happened, adding that the city doesn’t regularly see these types of events.

Large gatherings on private property that will impact pedestrian or vehicular traffic require a temporary use permit, Soules said. Events on city property, like parks or rec centers, require a special event proposal and a temporary use permit.

Officer Kristopher McDowell said in an email statement that impromptu large gatherings can present a number of public safety concerns, including medical emergencies, fire and occupancy issues, traffic congestion and blocked roadways, inadequate parking, restricted access for emergency vehicles, property damage and criminal activity.

“When the city is aware of a large event beforehand, police, fire, emergency medical services, traffic personnel, and other appropriate city resources can evaluate the anticipated impact and prepare accordingly,” he said. “When several hundred or potentially thousands of people arrive at a location with little notice, those same considerations have to be addressed in real time while maintain the ability to respond to calls for service throughout the rest of the city.”

McDowell said the city’s goal isn’t to prevent large gatherings from happening, but rather ensure that they happen safely. He noted that a large number of people intending to meet up is not, in itself, illegal. 

“The fact that a large number of people intend to gather does not, standing alone, necessarily provide a basis for prohibiting the gathering,” he said. “Individuals retain constitutional protections associated with lawful assembly and expressive activity.”

Similarly, McDowell said that not all large events require a police presence and staffing and resources are assigned based on the circumstances. He said the permit process allows the department to “plan rather than react.”

“For some gatherings, the normal deployment of officers in the area may be sufficient,” McDowell said. “Larger or more complex events may require additional personnel, traffic-control resources, supervisors, or specialized resources. The department may also develop contingency plans so that additional resources can be requested or deployed if conditions change during the event.

Though police were not aware of Sunday’s gathering in advance, McDowell said the department does have dedicated resources to identifying and assessing large impromptu and pop-up events.

“One of the challenges in identifying these events in advance is the rapidly changing way in which information is communicated,” he said. “There are numerous social media and communication platforms available today, as well as a significant and continually changing number of individuals and groups capable of quickly reaching large audiences. An event can sometimes develop from an initial online post into a gathering involving a substantial number of people in a relatively short period of time.”

He also added that events are not always advertised on social media, but in private groups, closed communication platforms and invitation-only forums.

McDowell said the purpose of identifying events in advance is to appropriately identify impacts and prepare resources, not to scrutinize legal gatherings. 

He said the department is “committed to maintaining awareness of activities that may significantly affect our residents, businesses, and visitors while respecting lawful activity and individual rights.”

“As communication methods and social media platforms continue to evolve, the department will likewise continue evaluating technology, partnerships, and information-sharing practices, to always improve and provide appropriate situational awareness and allow the city to prepare effectively for large or rapidly developing events,” McDowell said.

According to the Associated Press, teen takeovers, which are often promoted on social media, have become a recent national trend, leading to shootings, vandalism and theft in some cases. Other communities that have had teen takeovers, like Detroit and Chicago, have sought to identify organizers, fine parents of those involved and impose curfews.

Teens told AP that the gatherings have happened in response to the closure of spaces for youth and businesses like malls and movie theaters imposing group limits. 

John Bailey, director of the Colorado Black Round Table and past director of the national Weed and Seed program, said young people should be held accountable for their behavior, but the phenomenon of “teen takeovers,” as well as violent or disruptive juvenile conduct is part of a larger problem.

Kids who are seen as problems by the community become a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially when they’re bored and left alone to their own devices, Bailey said.

Aurora leaders need to ask what after-school programs, rec programs and other events are available to kids in the Aurora community.

“If you see that those resources are not available, then what’s happening is that these kids are at home, always on social media or on video games, and just coming up with crazy stuff to do,” Bailey said. “They can just be young and dumb.”

The problem of teen delinquency and violence isn’t just a concern of parents, but everyone.

“There’s some data out here that says that kids all go to school with the same energy, mindset and enthusiasm,” Bailey said. “But by third grade, a good number of Black and brown kids have been isolated, either by skill or by behavior, out of the classroom.”

Bailey said a one-size-doesn’t-fit-much-of-anybody system just passes kids along.

“That’s what truly becomes the school to prison pipeline,” Bailey said. “This is just as much a root-cause story that includes institutional racism and systemic abuses.”

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