Teacher concerned about youth harassment incident at Langley mall

Marcia McNaughton was raised not to be a bystander, but when she saw a group of children attack a boy at a Langley mall on Wednesday, she was one of those who tried to intervene.

McNaughton was enjoying himself at the Nail Studio in the Willowbrook Shopping Centre at the time and was among those who noticed a group of children who looked to be in Year 8 or 9 who appeared to be searching the mall.

“They were swearing and riding around on their little scooters,” she said. “I kept hearing them say, ‘There he is. There he is.'” She had come out of the salon and spoken to some of the young people.

“I was like, ‘Hey guys, stop it…’ They flipped me off and told me to go to hell.”

She returned to the salon, but the mall was still busy. She put on her shoes and decided to stroll out.

She followed the sound. The group had caught up with the youth but scattered as she and others approached. She said one youth looked like he had been attacked.

“There was a kid with a bunch of raspberries on his face. They ripped his shirt. He had about four or five spots on his face,” McNaughton said.

“The boy who took the beating was by no means a small child, but when you’re dealing with several people you know, he literally didn’t stand a chance.

The attackers ran as more people and security forces gathered. Police arrived. McNaughton encountered an RCMP member who asked her if she could identify any of the children. She said yes, and they began to march through the mall. When they encountered them, the young people ran.

One of the children managed to escape, but she identified the police officer as two teenagers. McNaughton said the young people started to act up: “There’s nothing they can do. I didn’t do anything.”

“I said, ‘Dude, I’m a teacher. I teach high school. I could recognize you anywhere.'”

McNaughton said the parents of the attacked teenager came and spoke to her.

She later spoke to the nail salon staff and other mall employees.

“At the mall they said this happens all the time,” McNaughton noted.

She has worked in the public school system for about 18 years with at-risk youth and runs a consulting business. She has experience working with autistics and others. McNaughton said she has never seen youth behavior as bad as it is today.

“To be honest, I think this situation was about group mentality and joining in,” she commented. “Unfortunately, I found the kids to be extremely disrespectful, and I see that much more often now than I used to.”

McNaughton, the daughter of retired police officers, said there is a real lack of respect for authority and for the people who step in and say this behavior was inappropriate and disrespectful to the police.

“There were no filters and no boundaries. Each of us was instructed where to go, how to get there, every obscenity was mentioned. Even the children told the police, ‘As if you can’t do anything. You can’t touch me.'”

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Craig van Herk in Langley said police responded to an incident at the mall Tuesday afternoon involving alleged assault suspects and a victim, and the investigation is complete.

“The officers spoke to the teenagers and their parents,” he said.

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