CASPER — A pair of underage boys have been arrested in connection with the stabbing death of another male juvenile outside Eastridge Mall on Sunday afternoon.
Casper Police Department Lt. Scott Jones there are three suspects in the incident at the mall, including the two who have been arrested and another “for various reasons who has not” been arrested, he said.
Jones said the third suspect allegedly had a peripheral involvement in the incident. All involved were younger than 16.
“We identified the main antagonists in this particular tragedy fairly quickly yesterday afternoon,” he said. “We took them into custody, questioned them, and they are in jail.”
He said the district attorney’s office is expected to charge the pair in coming days.
Additionally, the police department has increased its presence around Natrona County schools in response to a threatening social media post that has been debunked, but yet has caused some students to fear going to school.
“There is no direct threat to the schools. No school, faculty, staff or students to our knowledge have been threatened regarding this,” he said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have added visibility around the schools.”
Jones said the police department will continue to investigate any social media or other related threats surrounding the incident.
The investigation of the fight continues, and Jones said anyone with knowledge about the incident who has not spoken to police are asked to contact the department at telhart@casperwy.gov.
Autopsy Scheduled
Natrona County Coroner James Whipps said he is not releasing any information related to the young person’s death until an autopsy is complete and the investigation is completed.
“From our standpoint, it looks to be an apparent homicide and we are treating it as such, and we should be doing an autopsy tomorrow and figure it all out,” he said.
At Eastridge Mall on Monday morning, walkers were doing their paces, a few stores were already open and others opening for the day. Managers and employees at five stores declined to comment on the incident or said they would need corporate approval. Most said they had no information about the melee.
One store employee who did not want to be named said they had received no information about incident when it was happening or after from mall management, and that bothers her.
Mall General Manager Tammy Ito declined to comment about the incident.
“Our sympathy is with the family, and it is an ongoing investigation,” she said. “We are not going to be talking about it.”
Mall Changes
Darrell Black and his wife, Ellen, sat in the food court and said they left the mall Sunday just before the fatal fight. They enjoy going to the mall daily where Ellen walks and they have conversations with others at their “senior table.”
“There has been a change at the mall since the first of the year,” Darrell Black said, adding that he’s seeing more young men who “should be at school.”
His wife said the incident Sunday seems to reflect something beyond the mall, but overall culture of society.
“There’s just an atmosphere of hatred,” she said. “Everybody finds things that are wrong and not willing to make them right.”
Casper mom Hannah Samuelson was at the mall in a child’s play area with her toddler. She comes to the mall to exercise and let her little one play. When she told her husband about the Sunday stabbing, she said he commented that they would never let their children go to the mall alone.
“I think there is a big difference going to the mall in the morning,” she said. “It’s sketchier when school gets out. Kids don’t have parental supervision. There is not accountability or authority to keep them accountable.”
Outside the mall, McKenzie Jones said she had heard about the incident. She had just finished doing some walking inside. She has recently moved to Casper from Lovell.
“I didn’t think that kind of stuff happened around here,” she said, adding that the incident has made her think twice about going to the mall, especially when she learned those involved are young.
“Coming from a young person, it’s crazy,” she said.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at: Dale@CowboyStateDaily.com
