Two teenage boys rode e-bikes through the aisles of a Foothill Ranch Walmart on Saturday afternoon, nearly hitting customers and prompting a call to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. By the time deputies arrived, the boys were gone. Video of the incident has circulated online ever since, with viewers questioning how the teens got away with it.
The June 7 incident took place at the Walmart at 26502 Towne Center Drive in Foothill Ranch, near Lake Forest, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to KTLA. The two riders, the agency said, were approximately 14 or 15 years old. No criminal charges have been filed.
Vince Vasquez, 61, who was at the store with his wife and his special-needs daughter, told KTLA his family had been nearly struck. He recorded the clip that has been circulating since. In one section of the recording, a customer on a scooter of his own can be seen chasing the two teens out of the store.
The Walmart incident is just the latest in a series of high-profile encounters involving younger e-bike riders across Orange County in recent months. The county has seen a wealth of attacks, fatal crashes, and felony charges tied to teenage riders this year. Local law enforcement and prosecutors have attempted to call more attention to the disturbing pattern.
How the Sheriff’s Department Has Responded
A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department told KTLA the potential for injury, property damage, or trespassing in incidents like this is high. The sheriff’s department indicated that it’s aware of the video circulating online. However, as of the station’s most recent update, the riders haven’t been publicly identified.
One person who had filed a report stayed at the scene when deputies responded, but declined to pursue charges against the teens. The police still haven’t said whether that person was Vasquez. With no one pressing the matter, the case has not advanced further, though it does seem to have perturbed many.
A Broader Pattern in Orange County
KTLA reported that other recent e-bike cases in the county have ended differently than the Walmart incident. In April, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced felony charges against the mother of a 14-year-old boy accused of fatally striking an 81-year-old man on an e-bike in Lake Forest. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has said publicly that the mother could have prevented the incident.
A separate Huntington Beach attack drew national attention in May, when a large group of teenagers on e-bikes attacked a 61-year-old man on the boardwalk and struck him in the face with a bottle. According to Patch’s coverage of the broader pattern, an earlier incident in March involved teens on e-bikes who tried to run down a Black student at the University of California, Irvine, hurling racial slurs and spitting. None of the earlier cases shares a direct connection with the Foothill Ranch incident.