GILBERT, Ariz. — Banning brass knuckles, surveying teens and getting schools more involved: those were some of the options hashed out Thursday afternoon in the Gilbert Town Council chambers.
Thursday was the first public meeting of the subcommittee created some two weeks ago to address the ongoing issue of teen violence in Gilbert.
The committee is made up of councilmembers Chuck Bongiovanni, Jim Torgeson and Vice mayor Scott Anderson. Right out of the gate, they discussed potential solutions.
Bongiovanni brought up multiple ideas. He said they may get some push back but added that's why they have these public meetings so residents can discuss what the options are.
He talked about having businesses open their shops to teenagers so they can hangout there instead of parking lots or parking garages where some of these assaults have occurred. Bongiovanni also would like to create a survey for teenagers so they can talk about what issues they've seen.
Then Bongiovanni said they may need to get state legislators involved. He proposed creating a bill that would ban the sale of brass knuckles to minors.
"I really believe they should be controlled for minors," he said.
Reports obtained by 12News reveal some of the teen assaults involved suspects using brass knuckles against teens.
It's not just happening in Gilbert. In Desert Ridge, a 15-year-old was sucker-punched at an In-N-Out burger parking lot with brass knuckles. His family said it knocked several of his teeth out.
The committee also talked about involving more schools in the discussion to find solutions.
While ideas were shared, Bongiovanni said they have a lot more work ahead of them.
“It’s going to take a village on this one but I have faith in Gilbert that we will pull together to do that,” he said.
The Gilbert Police Chief was also at the meeting, just about an hour after he held a press conference addressing teen assault investigation currently happening in Gilbert.
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