HAMPTON, Va. — Hampton police are reminding people juveniles cannot be unattended at Peninsula Town Center. The reminder comes on the heels of a high-profile shooting in Virginia Beach involving a large number of young people.
There weren’t any juveniles out and about at PTC Thursday morning, but businesses News 3 talked with said juveniles are a problem, especially at night.
“Those kids are just running around and just causing problems," Custom T-Shirts Co-owner Farad Saleh said.
Watch: 2 dead after shooting in parking garage near Peninsula Town Center in Hampton
Those problems are bad for business.
"A lot of people kind of get scared and don’t want to come out," Saleh explained.
In a Facebook post, Hampton police remind people if juveniles are found without a parent or guardian and police have to get involved “it could result in charges for both the juvenile and parent.”
On March 7, six people were shot at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach as a large crowd of young people were hanging around.
“I do fear that a situation like that may happen," Peninsula Town Center resident William Beal II said.
Watch: Oceanfront shooting suspect turns self in to Virginia Beach police, claims self-defense
Like many of the businesses, Beal feels juveniles are, in his words, a big issue.
“It’s not to put the blame on the Hampton Police Department or the security personnel that surveillance the Peninsula Town Center. It’s really just the lack of discipline that the kids bring as far as their behavior," Beal II said.
Hampton Police did not have anyone available for comment Thursday about the issue.
