Deer Park teen hospitalized after alleged assault at park as police warn of teen takeovers
Disturbing video shared with News 12 appears to show dozens of teens gathered at the park, surrounding the girl as multiple fights broke out nearby.
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A 14-year-old girl from Deer Park is recovering after her family says she was attacked by a group of teens at a local park on the last day of school. The attack comes as Suffolk County police warn about a growing trend of large teen gatherings turning violent.
The teen was allegedly assaulted Tuesday evening at Fabio Buttitta Park, according to her family. Anne Pierre said her daughter was jumped by multiple girls and hospitalized after the attack.
Disturbing video shared with News 12 appears to show dozens of teens gathered at the park, surrounding the girl as multiple fights broke out nearby. Pierre said a group of girls pulled her daughter’s hair, knocked her to the ground and choked her.
“It’s just heartbreaking what’s happening to my daughter,” Pierre said.
Pierre described the scene as chaotic.
“A bunch of girls, everybody. It was like a chaotic thing, a whole messy, messy type of thing going on,” she said.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the incident marks the third large teen takeover in recent weeks, following similar gatherings at Robert Moses State Park and Smith Point County Park.
Catalina said police often see these types of incidents around the end of the school year, but noted social media is increasingly fueling the gatherings.
“What may start as kids hanging out can turn violent in a matter of seconds,” Catalina said.
He added that the behavior will not be tolerated by law enforcement or school officials.
“It’s not acceptable,” Catalina said. “Stuff on the internet doesn’t go away. Not only could it be physically harmful for these individuals to engage in that type of behavior, but it could hurt them later on.”
Some neighbors say they want to see a stronger police presence at local parks to help prevent similar incidents.
Jeannae Sawyer of Wyandanch said repeated violence could discourage families from using public spaces.
“They have been very helpful. Suffolk County Police Department is very helpful in more than one ways, but we can’t control these kids, that’s what makes it hard,” Sawyer said.
Police said Tuesday’s incident remains under investigation.
