Eighteen people were taken into custody on Monday, Feb. 16, police said, after an estimated one hundred to five hundred teens participated seemingly in an organized “takeover” of The Mall at Bay Plaza in the Baychester section of The Bronx. When contacted for details of the charges, the NYPD said the details of any charges / summonses were not yet available.

In response to an email inquiry, police said that on Monday, Feb. 16, at around 2.08 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding a crowd control condition at 200 Baychester Avenue (Bay Plaza Mall). “Upon arrival, officers observed a large group of disorderly youths at the location,” a police spokesperson said. “Police issued multiple warnings to disperse the location. Multiple juveniles were taken into custody.” [Police said separately by phone that eighteen people were taken into custody.]

Norwood News will share more details as they become available. In videos shared on social media by different users, some teens are seen on the ground outside The Mall being cuffed by police, while in others, a swarm of cops are seen flooding the area.

In other videos, the teens, many dressed in dark clothing and hoodies, are seen storming The Mall and inside what looks like a McDonalds, some are seen jumping on tables and generally running wild. In another video, they are seen throwing chairs inside a restaurant and in another, one is seen outside The Mall throwing a shopping cart against a glass door.

In accompanying text included across one of the videos shared online, the seemingly organized takeover was described as a “success” by the account user. In other videos, it was mentioned that several teens were arrested. A flier that had reportedly been circulating online prior to the event according to some shared videos reads, “Bay Plaza Take Over, Monday, Starts at 2:00 Ends until we get kicked out. DM for more info.” The origin of the flier is unclear. In other videos posted online, the commotion appeared to spill over inside an MTA bus as some of the teens made their way home.

Snippets from at least some of the videos were shared on some drill rap-related user accounts on social media possibly with the aim of gaining more followers. In a separate post on one of the drill-rap related accounts, the account user appears to appreciate that during a Coney Island press conference held the same day as the takeover i.e. Feb. 16, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recalled listening to drill rap artist, Pop Smoke, in prior years while enjoying the amusement rides.

The mayor was in Coney Island announcing the creation of a new Business Improvement District (BID) for the area, and while standing in front of the amusement park, he said in part, “I love roller coasters. I was on the Phoenix [ride] like four months ago. I’m a big fan of Coney Island, big fan of roller coasters… also, a big fan of the bumper cars that you can go on, just not too far from the boardwalk.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, Rep. George Latimer (NY-16), Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Assembly Member Michael Benedetto (A.D. 82), State Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D. 36), and Council Member Kevin Riley (C.D. 12) released a joint statement (attached below) in response to incident, broadly saying that those involved did not represent the vast majority of young people from The Bronx. Read the full statement below.

Meanwhile, the Westchester County Executive’s Office Department of Public Safety and its Real Time Crime intelligence center said Wednesday that they were monitoring social media activity and working with municipal law enforcement partners “to discourage so-called called teen-ager “takeovers” of retail venues and other public spaces.”

Commissioner Terrance Raynor said, “We are asking teens to take our advice about takeovers: do not participate in this kind of activity. You can get hurt, other people can get hurt and you can be subject to arrest. We are also urging parents to speak with their children and advise them to ignore this dangerous ‘challenge’ being presented to youths via social media.”

Westchester officials added that county and local police were aware of social media posts identifying various locations in Westchester as potential sites for a takeover. Raynor urged the public to share any information they have about potential takeover targets or events and shared the following details:

• Voice Tip Line: (800)898-TIPS (8477).
• Electronic Tips: Send email, text messages and small video clips to tips@wccops.com.
• Via Mobile App: The WCPD Mobile App contains a home screen Submit a Tip button to enable tips to be sent confidentially or anonymously. It is available for Apple and Android phones. Enter Westchester County PD in the app store search bar to locate and download it.

Yonkers Police Department were more direct in their response. “Takeover? Think twice in Yonkers,” they said. “We are not like other jurisdictions. We have the resources and the motivation to arrest all participants. Any attempt at a ‘Take Over’ in any location in our city will be swiftly dealt with.”

On Tuesday evening, NYPD police officers and two others seen wearing combat gear and bulletproof vests were seen on the platform of the 149th Street-Grand Concourse subway station in the South Bronx. When contacted as to the reason for the presence of the group in the station, the NYPD press office said they had no explanation for same and added that the NYPD never wear camouflage attire.

Asked if she knew if the takeover was planned by the same group as the Bay Plaza takeover, the woman said, “Yeah, the same kids that went to Bay Plaza. I guess they’re posting or texting and whoever shows up, they take over. They knew about it since yesterday or the day before yesterday, So I posted it to let the families know.”

For clarity, we asked if the resident if the police knew about the St. Catherine’s planned takeover beforehand, and she said, “Yes, the cops already knew. I spoke to the commander for The Bronx and the 49th Precinct. I texted the captain last night to remind him, and even Kings Plaza (in Brooklyn), they tried to take over yesterday or today and the cops were there, and they didn’t let any teenagers in the mall. They’re going to continue doing this, I don’t know where they’re going tomorrow.”

The woman also said, “This is not going to stop because [of] the politicians’ policies on bail reform. They get arrested when they do things and they get out in less than 72 hours and they’re released.”

Meanwhile, a young, female, Black TikTok user who has over 36,000 followers and 4.3 million likes on her account, took to social media late on Monday night to berate those who participated in the apparent takeover. Her video heading read, “Bay Plaza Takeover is Sherm & if you’re going, you’re embarrassing.” It was followed by several crying emojis.

Seemingly exasperated, the young woman continued, “Y’all wonder why people say ‘Oh the [inaudible / Sky zone?] isn’t going to last long.’ This is why! Why’s there no places for kids to hang out? This is why! People don’t want to run afterschool programs and places for kids because y’all act like this, Bro, for no reason. Y’all play exactly into the stereotype and it’s sad, Bro! A bunch of Black and brown kids going to raid the f*cking mall… that’s embarrassing as f*ck! Where are y’all parents, Bro? Y’all parents need to get in trouble for this, I’m sorry.”

She continued, “These kids nowadays got a mind of their own but nah, their parents need to start getting in trouble for this sh*t so they can really start to crack down on these motherf*ckers. Y’all are sherm! You are as childish as f*ck! If you’re going to go raid that mall, you are childish. Nobody with any common sense or even the smallest bit of smarts is going to go do that. Y’all broke through the movie theater last year. Y’all robbed stores. Y’all broke store windows, all of that. What do you guys gain out of that? Talkin’ about there’s not sh*t for kids in New York. Guess why? Y’all are ghetto and f*cking untamed.”

The teen added, “Y’all’s parents did not raise y’all right. I’m only 18 years old, Bro, and I’m seeing people who are 17, 16 doing this sh*t! I’m scared for y’all! Y’all’s futures are genuinely cooked, Bro! Your future is genuinely cooked if you think this sh*t is swag.” The user went on to suggest that the parents of the affected kids needed to enforce more discipline at home. “You 15, 16 years old doing sh*t like this? Yeah, no! You clearly not going to learn. You clearly too far gone. I would’ve thrown your asses out the frame,” she said.

The user continued, “This sh*t is sad, Bro. Hear y’all go givin’ ’em more shit to say about Hispanic and Black people. This is why we’ll never win. Certain people from our communities just do dumb sh*t. I hope the police come and just start charging everyone. I hope every single police force in the f*cking New York f*cking State goes to that mall and cuffs everyone, every single last one of y’all b*tches, and put every single one of y’all asses in jail no matter how old…jail, probation, f*cking JuV all o’ that.”

She added, “I’m sick of y’all. I really, really, really am because, Bro, what’s the point of this? What do y’all gain from this?” The user continued saying that last year, when the movie theater was broken into, one possibility discussed afterwards by officials was to have minors carry IDs and also have them accompanied by an adult to get into the mall. “Once ya’ll do this now, ya’ll think they’re NOT gonna make this sh*t happen? C’mon! Now, y’all little kids really not gonna have nowhere to f*ckin’ go!” Her post had garnered nearly half a million views as of Monday night.

Also on Monday, the New York Daily News reported that the NYPD/FDNY rescued a 16-year-old boy who was trapped 50 feet down a shaft on the NYC Queensboro bridge, following a TikTok stunt the same day.

In August 2024, we reported how “Slaughtery” gang members had been separately charged with 14 shootings, the slashing of a rival in a courthouse, and how they bragged online about it. The gang is also influenced by drill rap. As reported, drill rap is a sub-genre of rap music that emerged in the last 10 years. It addresses gang and street life and often glorifies misogyny and violence.

In February 2022, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he had met with a group of Drill rappers and later explained to the media how the meeting went. “They said, ‘We heard you were going to ban Drill rapping,’ and I did not say that,” said Adams. “No, I was very clear on what I stated and they came in with a lot of energy. You know, here’s the 62-year-old guy that don’t understand young people and you want to destroy…. and I let them talk. Then I told them what I said, that violent people who are using Drill rapping to post who they killed, and then antagonize the people who they are going to kill is what the problem is.”