Astro Skate Brandon brawl: Mother says videos showing her 2 sons getting hurt are 'heartbreaking'
BRANDON, Fla. - Nearly two months after violent brawls broke out near a Brandon skating rink in May, the mother of two injured teenagers said her children are traumatized and recovering.
The mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said her sons were recorded on cell phone video getting attacked by groups of teens the night hundreds of people rioted outside Astro Skate in Brandon.
In one video, her 16-year-old son can be seen getting kicked through a glass window at a nearby barber shop. Another video shows a group of teens attacking her other 14-year-old son in an alley.
"It was heartbreaking. It was hard watching that video," she said Friday. "The outcome could have been totally different. We have to be thankful that it wasn't as tragic as it could have been."
She reached out to FOX 13 a day after Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister announced the arrest of another mother, Stephanie Pedroso, who's accused of inciting the violence.
Chronister said this all began when Pedroso went to the Astro Skate to inquire about holding an after-hours birthday party for her teenage daughter there.
Photo courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
According to investigators, she agreed to a contract that required her to provide two off-duty deputies due to the number of people she expected to be in attendance. On May 17, someone with Astro Skate called her to tell her she couldn't host the party because she didn't provide the necessary security.
During the next 24 hours, Pedroso used her daughter's social media to urge people to show up to the roller-skating rink anyway and cause a disturbance, Chronister said.
"She was just feeding on social media. Continue to encourage and incite individuals to come cause the destruction," the sheriff said Thursday. "As parents, we bear the responsibility of being role models - that shining example for our children to follow. Unfortunately, in this case, this mother did just the opposite, demonstrating what not to be or what not to do."
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Deputies said at least 500 people arrived at Astro Skate, causing brawls, injuries, damaging businesses and leading to nearly 30 arrests, most of whom were juveniles.
The mother of two of the teenagers who were hurt is still shocked.
"This young man kicked my son through a plate glass window to point that he had to have over 20 stitches," she said, adding she hopes the arrest of Pedroso isn't the last. "I think it's important to the case that she was arrested, but she's not the only person that should be held accountable."
Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez said authorities were able to charge Pedroso with her specific charge due to a recently amended Florida statute regarding rioting.
If Pedroso is convicted, she could spend up to five years in prison.
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