A disturbance during a teen event forced the Poughkeepsie Galleria to close early Friday night, and the entertainment center that hosted the event has suspended Teen Night indefinitely. Bounce! Sports & Entertainment Center said it had brought in extra security and had police officers present, but the situation grew beyond what staff could safely manage. The trouble spread beyond the venue and onto mall property before officers cleared the scene.
The incident happened September 25th at Bounce!, which operates inside the Poughkeepsie, New York, shopping center. Teen Night was designed as an evening for young people to gather for activities at the venue. Bounce! had previously advertised editions of the event for ages 15 to 18, with laser tag and trampolines among the attractions. Friday’s event instead ended with a police response and an early closing for the entire mall.
Police dispatch was notified at about 7 p.m. by officers already working an off-duty detail at Bounce!, Town of Poughkeepsie Police Captain Ralph Cropley told the Poughkeepsie Journal. He said officers at the scene estimated that as many as 500 people were present. Seventeen officers from the town police department and eight other agencies responded as the disturbance moved beyond the entertainment center.
Bounce! said its staff and the officers initially removed the people involved from its property. The disturbance then continued outside the venue, moved into the parking lot and returned to the mall near the food court, according to Cropley. Bounce! said the situation “escalated beyond what we could safely allow” despite the additional precautions. As News 12 reported, the mall closed for the remainder of Friday evening and reopened for normal business hours Saturday.
The size of the response didn’t necessarily mean hundreds of people were fighting. Cropley told the Poughkeepsie Journal that police found no physical fight and received no reports of injuries. He described the episode as a growing disturbance. Officers left the mall at 8:31 p.m., roughly an hour and a half after the initial notification.
See some of the chaos unfold here:
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Police took one teenager into custody at the mall. The teen, whom authorities didn’t name, was charged with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. Bounce! announced a broader change after the incident. Citing repeated problems at Teen Night, the business suspended the event indefinitely and said the people involved in Friday’s disturbance had been banned from its property. It also imposed a rule effective immediately: anyone younger than 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult who is at least 18 while visiting Bounce!. Minors can no longer enter the venue alone.
The business acknowledged that the decision affects teenagers who followed its rules and came to enjoy the event. “This is a truly sad outcome,” Bounce! said in its statement. It apologized to those guests and said it had created Teen Night to give them a place to have fun. The company said the actions of a small portion of attendees had taken that opportunity away from everyone else.
The mall’s closure lasted only for the rest of Friday night, while Bounce!’s new admission rule applies to all future visits. Its Teen Night suspension has no announced end date. Addressing the teens who had attended without causing trouble, Bounce! said, “This decision is not because of you.” The venue said the safety of its guests and staff would determine whether it could continue hosting such events.
Featured image: screengrab from the embedded video.