Chandler officials unanimously pledged Thursday to crack down on youth violence and invest in preventing it, in a largely symbolic move to cement the city’s “zero-tolerance” approach to a series of brutal beatings across the East Valley.
The pledge is a response to residents who demanded the city take action after an ongoing investigation by The Arizona Republic found that a gang of mostly affluent teenagers, called the “Gilbert Goons,” had engaged in a string of attacks on other teens in the region for more than a year.
Many attacks occurred in Gilbert. Parents, students and community activists say members of the Goons were involved in the Oct. 28 fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord outside a Halloween party in Queen Creek.
A somber Nick Lord, the dead boy’s father, captured the public mood of the moment when he addressed Chandler’s elected leaders.
“It did not happen in Chandler, but we can all agree that the impact of youth violence is far more widespread than we all could have imagined at this point,” Lord said. “Our community cannot afford to be complacent. It’s important to me and my family that we are a part of the solution.”