'Riotous, Uncontrollable Behavior': Police Say Teens Mob Belair Road

Teenagers breaking the windows out of police cars with bricks, throwing bottles at officers and destroying property.

It sounds like a scene from a riot, but it’s just what happened this weekend in Fullerton.

Police say that when hundreds teens left the Putty Hill Skateland around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, chaos ensued and it’s been that way since the beginning of July.

Monday afternoon, White Marsh precinct commander Capt. Michael Balog scheduled a meeting with Skateland owners to discuss “what their solution is for their patrons” before Baltimore County has to take other legal action.

Balog said that Saturday night two juveniles were arrested after an unruly mob of teenagers leaving the skating rink caused chaos along Belair Road from the skating rink all the way to the bus loop in Overlea, about 1.8 miles away.

Teens threw a brick through the window of a patrol car, Balog said. One teenage girl was arrested after she kicked a police officer repeatedly.

Other teens were seen using an umbrella to try and damage signs posted along the road, he said.

And that’s just the beginning.

“Each of the last three to four weekends I have reports …  emails where a lot of residents are complaining to me,” Balog said. “Each Saturday Skateland lets out, a couple hundred kids come out onto Belair Road.”

The large crowds have forced area businesses, including a nearby 7-Eleven store and a nearby McDonald’s, to shut down and lock their doors Balog said.

On July 26 a group of teens who came from Skateland took a phone from the hands of a 7-Eleven employee who was trying to call 911, Balog said. Employees tried to lock the doors to the store and several of the teens jumped onto the hood and roof of a car in the parking lot causing extensive damage.

“That required a very large police response from several police precincts,” Balog said.

How large? Well, Balog said that since the beginning of July police have had about 25 patrol cars and a helicopter “tied up dealing with kids from Skateland” for about 2 hours, from 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Saturday nights.

When kids leave the building, they walk as far as the Overlea bus loop near Northern Parkway to catch public transportation.

“This riotous and uncontrollable behavior of a large crowd is just out of hand,” Balog said. “When other businesses have to close down and lose normal business that’s problematic.”

Since July 13, Balog said that 5 teens have been arrested in connection with the activity stemming from Skateland.

“There would be more [arrests] but we can’t get to them because of the crowds,” he said.

The Monday afternoon meeting comes ahead of a so-called “club night” at Skateland on Aug. 16, where Balog said that even more teens are expected to attend.