ATLANTA — Two days after Thanksgiving, 300 teens got into a fight outside of a bowling alley at Atlantic Station.
According to police, the fight happened around 5 p.m. on Nov. 28. An Atlanta mom says that her son was victimized hours afterward and was beaten so badly that he had to be hospitalized.
Iresha Ridley said her 13-year-old son, Javon Ridley, took an Uber to the shopping center with friends around 8 p.m. to meet his uncle. She said that when he arrived, the police told him the center was blocked off.
That's when she said her son was redirected to the 17th Street bridge. She said, moments later, a boy came up to her son and asked him if he wanted to fight.
“And then the boy just struck him. He made it up to the sidewalk and was able to use someone else’s phone and called his dad," Iresha said.
Iresha said she took her son to the hospital that night after he sustained a fractured nose, bruises, and a head injury. She added that her son has been seeing a neurologist for the last two weeks for some memory loss.
She told 11Alive that she wanted to share her story in order to hold children, parents, and police accountable for what unfolded that night.
"My son says there were police officers around and I just don't understand why they wouldn't have stepped in. These children also need to have activities to stay out of trouble," says Ridley.
An Atlanta Police spokesperson, Officer Steve Avery, said Javon's case has been classified as a burglary and an investigator is assigned. Police have not released if any new arrests were made as part of the incident.
Authorities have confirmed that one person was detained in connection to the previous fight at Atlantic Station. According to the Atlantic Station website, there is a curfew in place for children under 18. The center requires all youth under 18 to be accompanied by an adult after 6 p.m.