“San Jose Safeway Parking Lot Taken Over by Bike Party, Residents Harassed”
Residents in the Willow Glen area of San Jose were caught off guard when a group of bike riders reportedly harassed bystanders in a Safeway parking lot on Saturday afternoon, according to police.
Erin Ronan, a witness who spoke to KTVU, described how the group threw objects at people, entered the Safeway store to take items, and caused damage to cars. Ronan, who was at a nearby nail salon at the time, captured some of the chaos on her cell phone.
“At first, I thought it was just one of the usual bike parties, but within minutes, it was clear that it wasn’t,” Ronan explained.
Ronan witnessed the incident around 1 p.m. and said a large group of teenagers and some adults with motorized bikes were in the Safeway parking lot on Bird Avenue. She observed some of them entering the grocery store to take items, despite employees trying to intervene.
“They were also jumping on top of cars. I saw them throw rocks and food at a woman who was by herself, and they even broke her windshield,” Ronan recounted.
San Jose police confirmed they received reports about a large bike party harassing residents. Multiple people were reportedly struck by rocks and other objects, though none were injured. Ronan mentioned that smoke bombs were also set off in the parking lot. The woman who was attacked did not wish to be identified but shared photos showing bruises on her arm and the damage to her car.
“I couldn’t leave. I felt helpless because I wanted to help the woman who was alone in her car, but there wasn’t much I could do against such a large crowd. I felt terrible for the Safeway employees; many of them were very young,” Ronan said.
When police arrived at the scene, some of the teenagers were still in the parking lot, but no arrests were made. Authorities searched the area for others who may have been involved in the incident. Freddie Elian, the owner of Bibo’s Pizza, which is located in the same shopping plaza, said he and his staff were inside working when the commotion occurred.
“I’d like to think there were just a few bad apples in that group. I’m not sure if they were part of it or just tagging along, but that’s not the norm when they come around. They’ve visited about half a dozen times that I can remember, so I was surprised and extremely disappointed,” said Elian.
San Jose police were seen patrolling the parking lot on Monday, but the Safeway manager declined to comment on the incident. Although the police response received some criticism online, several people told KTVU that they believe officers secured the scene as quickly as possible and ensured public safety.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
