By SÍLE MOLONEY & DAVID GREENE

ELECTED OFFICIALS, INCLUDING Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and others join a Zoom call with Tik Tok to discuss ways to curb the recent “Teen Takeover” trend. The group has written to the CEOs of Tik Tok, as well as those of YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram to ask them to take proactive measures to prevent the spread of content that encourages riots and other unsafe mass gatherings, in light of the violent takeover on The Mall at Bay Plaza on President’s Day.  
Photo Image courtesy of Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, along with other Bronx elected officials and business owners, has urgently requested TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube to take proactive measures to prevent the spread of content that encourages riots and other unsafe mass gatherings, in light of the violent takeover of The Mall at Bay Plaza on Presidents’ Day.

 

As reported, 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. Posts on social media referred to other apparently planned takeovers including at the Bronx Terminal Market also in February.

 

Ahead of the recent spring break from April 2 through April 10, Clark, her fellow elected officials along with business leaders sent letters urging the companies’ chief executive officers to take proactive measures to stop the spread of information about such takeovers before they happen.


Image courtesy of the Office of the Bronx District Attorney

They letters were co-signed by district attorney, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey (S.D. 36), Assembly Member Michael Benedetto (A.D. 82), City Council Members Kevin Riley (C.D. 12) and Althea Stevens (C.D. 16), and Eric Shalem, VP of Prestige Properties/The Mall at Bay Plaza.

 

The officials asked that the platforms “monitor and remove posts that actively encourage or organize mall takeovers or similar gatherings, work with local law enforcement and community organizations to identify trends in youth-driven events that pose public safety risks, educate users, especially minors, on the legal consequences and danger of organizing or participating in mass takeovers, and suspend social media privileges for those who incite such incidents.”


Image courtesy of the Office of the Bronx District Attorney

Clark said, “Social media is an influential driver in the lives of young people and how they communicate. In February, we witnessed the horrific ‘takeover’ of The Mall at Bay Plaza, where stores were trashed, mall employees were berated, the safety of Mall patrons was placed at risk, and teens placed themselves in danger. This violent event was possible because of the misuse of social media hashtags. I am urging the owners of these platforms to use their power to stem these ‘takeovers’ from happening in The Bronx and across the nation.”

 

She later said of the Zoom call held with her colleagues, “From advocacy to outcomes, today, we held an insightful and productive meeting with TikTok in response to our ‘Letter to Social Media.’ We’re looking forward to hearing from YouTube, Snapchat, and Meta on preventative and safety measures for our community, specifically our youth.”

SAMANTHA CARATTINI OF Bedford Park, who was reported missing in December 2025 is seen in a video being assaulted by some other teens in the Williamsbridge Oval park in Norwood on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, according to her mother. 
Image courtesy of the Citizens’ App

Though not a takeover, on Wednesday, April 15, a video posted to Instagram shows a group of youths assaulting a teen in the South Bronx apparently on Tuesday, April 14. In the accompanying narrative, the person who posted the video writes that a group of teenagers allegedly jumped another teenager in the vicinity of Yankee Stadium and was allegedly knocked unconscious.

 

The poster added that after the teen was jumped, his friends attempted to carry him home, and as they were doing so, they were confronted by concerned police officers. “One of the victim’s friends then attacked one of the officers, leading to three arrests,” the poster wrote.

SAMANTHA CARATTINI OF Bedford Park is reported missing, her mom says.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Carattini

Norwood News reached out to the NYPD for more information on the incident and were informed that a 15-year-old male complainant walked into a police precinct and reported to police that on Tuesday, April 14, at around 10 p.m. in the vicinity of Ruppert Plaza and East 161st Street, within the confines of the 44th Precinct, an unidentified person punched him in the face causing a laceration to his forehead.

 

According to police, the suspect fled the location on foot in an unknown direction. Police said, upon arrival at the scene, officers began to disperse a crowd that was forming around them when a 16-year-old female punched a 29-year-old female, uniformed officer in the face with a closed fist. They said the 16-year-old was taken into custody and a firearm was recovered as part of a lawful search.

They said she was charged with assault, two counts of criminal possession of a a weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct, and harassment.

A HIVE OF customers swarm the H&M at the new Bay Plaza Mall in Co-Op City. Doors opened August 14, 2014. 
File Photo

Separately, as reported, a young teenage girl, Samantha Carattini of Bedford Park who was reported missing in December 2025 was recently identified by her mother in a video circulating on social media in which Samantha is being assaulted by other teens on Wednesday, April 1, in the Williamsbridge Oval park in Norwood.

 

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, in Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.