A 14-year-old boy from Park Ridge is facing a hate crime charge after police say he was identified among a group of teens who allegedly used racial slurs toward a local store employee.
The alleged incident occurred Saturday afternoon at a store in the Summit of Park Ridge shopping center. According to the police report, a 63-year-old man working in the store told officers that a group of teens entered the business and “began harassing him, calling him names regarding his ethnicity and using racial slurs along with profanity,” said Park Ridge Deputy Police Chief Lou Jogmen.
The man ordered the teens out of the store, and when he began calling police, they left, but some reportedly began throwing dirt and rocks at the store window, Jogmen said.
When police arrived, the teens ran off, but officers later located a group matching their descriptions at Hinkley Park, 25 Busse Highway, Jogmen said.
The 14-year-old was charged with a hate crime, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass in connection with the earlier incident, police said.
An employee of the store told the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate that over the last few months, he has had problems with large groups of teens — including the ones present on Saturday — congregating inside and outside his store, buying very little or nothing at all, and using profanity. He said he has had to tell kids they can’t be in the store unless they are there to buy something and that only two or three will be allowed inside at one time.
The employee, who requested anonymity because he said he was concerned about retribution, said he let previous incidents go, but this time he said the teens began using slurs about his Indian heritage and, when they wouldn’t leave the store, he called police.
“Everything has a limit,” he said. “Society has got to know what is going on around them. They can’t keep their eyes closed.”
In addition to throwing dirt at the front windows, the teens banged their fists multiple times on the glass, yelling and calling him names, the man said.
He said video surveillance from outside the store captured images of some members of the group, which the employee said he provided to police. It was not clear exactly how many young people were part of the group.
A bystander who saw the teens running from the store chased after in an attempt to stop them, the store employee said.
“I pray for them, that they become something better,” the man said of the teens. “They’re not learning good things.”
The teen was released to a family member and will be petitioned to juvenile court, Jogmen said. The hate crime charge is a felony, he added.
It was not immediately clear why the boy was the only member of the group charged.
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune
