A recent and disruptive incident at a downtown Kelowna, B.C., restaurant has the owner fed up.
“They’re definitely harassing the employees for sure and disrupting the business,” said Pavneet Singh, co-owner of the Pita Pit.
Video from Sept. 18 shows a group of teenagers wreaking havoc inside the restaurant by climbing on counters and getting behind the food prep line while some of the youth record it on their phones.
“I don’t know what the purpose behind it is,” Singh said. “Are they trying to do TikTok?”
Singh said the same group has been disrupting business at the Pita Pit and Happy Slice, his pizza shop next door, all summer long.
Singh claimed the teens have been loitering, allegedly drinking their own alcohol on his outdoor patio and causing property damage, including breaking windows.
He said the teens continue causing a ruckus with no repercussions.
“Police hands are tied,” Singh told Global News. “We call them many times. They do come. I am not saying they don’t come but the teenagers, they take them, they go away from the property and a couple hours later they come back.”
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While the motivation in this case isn’t known, online prank trends have been fuelled in recent years by social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
That trend includes youth challenging each other to commit pranks such as kicking doors and running away to more serious ones that result in injuries.
Social media experts say pranks are nothing new, but what is new is people being a lot more exposed to them in the digital era.
“We have British Columbians every day, filming, sharing on the internet, because they believe that there’s a platform that they have right to, and whether it’s on TikTok, Facebook, it doesn’t matter, ” said Jesse Miller, founder of Mediated Reality.
“At some point if you are doing something that’s going to get you into legal trouble, odds are somebody’s documenting it. Odds are somebody’s putting online, and odds are there’s an officer willing to investigate that.”
In the Pita Pit case, police are investigating and have confirmed that one teen connected to the incident was arrested but on exactly what grounds, police won’t reveal, saying the suspect’s age and the privacy act prevent them from releasing any other details.
Singh just wants the chaos to stop.
“I think the parents should be involved,” Singh said. ” The kids’ parents should be involved and tell their kids this is not right.”
RCMP said the investigation remains open and ongoing.
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