Yeah, We Got That Viral Email Too

We’ve fielded our share of bogus email forwards decrying the declining state of NorthPark Center, most notably a string of them in February referring to “gangs.” While we couldn’t corroborate those rumors, the latest viral email appears to be somewhat legitimate.

The email alleges that a gang beat up a Dallas Academy student near NorthPark last week, and that the manager of Macy’s refused to provide help when the bloodied teen’s friends brought him to the store to clean him up.

Here’s what we know:

  • There was an assault on Jan. 2. According to Dallas police, “20 to 40” people beat up a 17-year-old boy and two others in a parking lot in the 9100 block of North Central Expressway.
  • The 17-year-old boy is a student at Dallas Academy, a school spokeswoman confirmed, and “a great kid.”
  • NorthPark issued a statement through Androvett Media acknowledging the incident, but defending the actions of Macy’s employees. “Macy’s staff responded professionally and compassionately in assisting this young man by calling 911 and contacting the Dallas Police Department.”

We’ve tried to reach out to the 17-year-old’s parents. Look for more details in this week’s paper.

15 thoughts on “Yeah, We Got That Viral Email Too

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  • January 9, 2012 at 6:31 pm
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    Calling the police but not letting the kid inside your store to clean up. Gee, that’s so compassionate.

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  • January 9, 2012 at 9:06 pm
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    Sounds like corporate butt kissing to keep Macy’s…

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  • January 9, 2012 at 9:30 pm
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    That movie theatre and food court ruined NorthPark.

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  • January 9, 2012 at 9:54 pm
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    The assault happened near the Sports Authority parking lot, near the Souper Salad and moved across Park Lane then across Central to the Macy’s lot. More than one student was beaten by the mob.

    Curiosity got the best of those guys, they wanted to see a street brawl. The mob turned towards them, they tried to run away and were caught by the mob. It happens.

    Word to the wise, don’t park anywhere between the DART station and the mall. Park in the Nordstrom garage or Neiman’s lot. Away from the mob areas.

    This kind of problem will not go away. All you can do is limit your exposure to it. I wonder why no one stopped to help?

    Reply
  • January 10, 2012 at 1:17 pm
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    The bus stops at northpark need to go. Also they may need to do what mall of America did and put a curfew on kids under 16 who need to be with a parent after a certain hour on the weekends. There is a lot of riff raff in that mall now especially around the food court area.

    Reply
  • January 10, 2012 at 2:47 pm
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    OTHER BILL
    Here is what happened. I have copied a portion of an email from the mom of the beaten boy’s girlfriend:

    He was at Northpark on Monday with 2 guy friends. At 6:00 pm they left NP on the
    Macy’s side and started walking towards the bridge over 75. His parents have
    rented a condo in that high rise complex across 75 near Whole Foods. They
    were jumped by a gang of kids who ran to the DART station after. Two of the boys ran
    away but John (not real name) was beaten to a pulp. It took 30 seconds. Doctors believe he
    was beaten by several different fists. He had 17 broken bones in his face. He
    has been at Presby all week. He is facing several surgeries. The two
    friends went back to find their friend, bloodied. They carried him to Macy’s
    for help and to clean him off. Ready- the Mgr of Macy’s tried to throw them
    out rather than help. He did not want anyone to know that this could happen
    at NP. The police arrived as well as an ambulance which the Macys Mgr tried
    to send away from “his” store. So after the parents
    spoke to the police, this is what they learned. 1) kids are part of a gang
    in So Dallas. Their initiation is to beat up a kid. They did not rob
    him of his money or his IPhone. 2) they ride over on the Dart train-
    3) they hang out at NP looking for a kid, well dressed,
    nice shoes and follow them out to the parking lots. Daytime too! 4) police
    said THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME! It is not reported on the news or in the
    paper because NP will not allow it to be reported for fear that no one would
    shop there if they knew how often it was happening!

    Reply
  • January 10, 2012 at 2:58 pm
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    I received the email string like all of you – multiple times – and reached out to Macy’s management to let them know what was going on and circulating in our community. The CEO of Macy’s spent many years in Dallas…as a side note….here is the response from him which includes his follow-up and inquiry to gather the facts. It appears from this that Macy’s did try to help. Read the response/email string below….

    To say that I was alarmed and frustrated by the contents of your e-mail
    this morning is an understatement. This is a terrible set of circumstances
    around one of the most prestigious shopping centers in America.

    First of all, I feel so badly about this vicious, random attack. Our
    District VP, Dennis Lucking, who supervises our stores in the Dallas area,
    is aware of the attack, was equally alarmed and has even reached out to the
    family to check on the status of this young victim.

    Secondly, the details in the e-mail you received from “Highland Park
    Mother’s Association” appear to be grossly incorrect and i do hope a
    revised, accurate version gets circulated. I could not imagine that the
    Macy*s team at Northpark, or any other of our 800 store teams across the
    country, would turn away a person in need of such assistance, and I have
    been assured that we did not. In fact, not only did we invite the Highland
    Park boys into our store, Macy*s associates administered first aid, called
    his parents, called 911 and arranged for an ambulance to transport him to
    the hospital. This is part of the culture of our company and the response
    I would expect from anyone on the Macy*s team.

    While the Macy*s response appears to have been the highlight of this
    unsettling event, I am deeply troubled by this occurrance, even if it did
    not happen at the Northpark Mall. (It appears the young man was assaulted
    across I-75, outside a Sports Authority store, but ran to Northpark Mall
    for refuge). I have asked our security department to review precautionary
    measures with the Northpark Mall security services as well as the Dallas
    Police department.

    Thank you for bringing this to my attention. This incident warranted
    taking me off my regular Monday meeting schedule today to attempt to find
    some answers, and it was well worth the time invested.

    Sincerely,
    Terry Lundgren

    —– Forwarded by Terry J Lundgren/MCS/MACYS on 01/09/2012 04:25 PM —–

    From: Dennis Lucking/SouthCentral/MACYS

    To: Terry J Lundgren/MCS/MACYS@MacysInc

    Cc: Betsy Zeino/SouthCentral/MACYS@MacysInc, Tom P Roan/MCSNY/MACYS@MacysInc

    Date: 01/09/2012 12:25 PM

    Subject: Re: Dallas Northpark Incident

    Terry,

    I am aware of this incident, as my store manager called me on the 7th (this
    past Saturday) to relay a conversation she had just had with a
    representative of the Highland Park Mother’s Association, The facts of the
    incident are as follows:

    The young man in question was assaulted outside of Sports Authority, on
    January 2nd, across I-75 from Northpark. He ran across I-75 and found his
    friends and they entered Macy’s and sought help. They were assisted by our
    Loss Prevention and a Sales Manager. The sales manager contacted 911 for
    the boys, even though they asked him not to. In the interim, the Loss
    Prevention Supv and Sales Manager locked down the restroom and cleaned him
    up during the time of awaiting the ambulance. An ambulance responded as
    well as the police. The police took a report and also contacted the boy’s
    mother, who met him at the store before he was loaded into the ambulance.

    This story made it’s way to the head of the “Highland Park Mother’s
    Association”. On January 7th (this past Saturday), a representative of
    the association met with Becky Brockey, VPSM, to let her know that they
    would be boycotting the store because Macy’s refused assistance to the
    boys. Becky explained to her the facts of the case, and stated to her
    that we would never turn away anyone who needed help. At the end of the
    conversation with Becky, the customer commented “I need to send another
    letter to recant the letter I already sent”.

    Loss Prevention contacted the police officer who is assigned to the mall,
    who stated that as best he can recall it has been at least 6 months since
    he has taken an assault or robbery complaint at the mall. We are not
    aware of any similar incidents at Northpark Mall; however, we will meet
    with Mall Management to determine if there is an issue that we are not
    aware of , and will react accordingly with the partnership of Loss
    Prevention.

    I apologize for the delay in this response, but I have been working with
    the Loss Prevention team this morning to ensure that we had all of the
    facts before responding. I am planning on speaking with the boy’s family
    this morning, and will send you a follow up note after I speak with them.

    Thanks

    Dennis
    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Reply
  • January 10, 2012 at 3:07 pm
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    Uh, Highland Park Mothers Association? Is this for real? I’ve never heard of it and am anxiously awaiting my invitation to join!

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  • January 10, 2012 at 4:17 pm
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    Why the hyper-focus on Macy’s? What is being done to find and prosecute the criminals?

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  • January 10, 2012 at 6:54 pm
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    Wow, those are some conflicting accounts! I tend to find the Macy’s account more plausible, but how did this story about the kid being denied help start…and this person claiming to have an email from the mom of the beaten boy’s girlfriend, is it a fake email not even written by her or does the mom really think that happened? Or did it in fact happen that way? I wonder if the parents will make a statement to clarify.

    Reply
  • January 10, 2012 at 8:56 pm
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    I agree with X – the criminals need to be found and this type of activity stopped.

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  • January 11, 2012 at 12:58 pm
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    The police officer assigned to NP must have forgotten about the armed robbery of couple as they were leaving the theatre in December 2011.

    Reply
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