Willowbrook Mall requires adults for teens amid disruption concerns
Willowbrook Mall said teens must have an adult after 3 p.m. Saturday, after social media posts raised fears of disruptive gatherings.
Willowbrook Mall will require anyone under 18 to be with an adult after 3 p.m. Saturday, July 18, a temporary move aimed at stopping the kind of disruptive gatherings mall leaders flagged on social media. The northwest Harris County center’s policy is meant to keep the property open and safe while it responds to concern about unsupervised teen crowds.
The mall’s posted policy requires visitors 17 and younger to be accompanied at all times by a parent or supervising adult age 21 or older after 3 p.m. Youth already inside before 3 p.m. must leave by then or immediately be joined by an adult. Public safety officers are to check identification at entrances, proof of age may be required, and one adult may accompany up to four youths.
The July restriction was not the first time Willowbrook used age-based rules this year. In May, the mall announced temporary rules for May 2 and May 9 after social media activity suggested large unsupervised gatherings, and a teen flash mob episode ended with fights and police involvement. Houston police detained and cited two girls after a fight at Willowbrook Mall drew a crowd.
Willowbrook’s move also fit a wider Houston-area pattern. Memorial City Mall adopted a similar temporary youth-curfew policy in May after social media posts referenced a possible unauthorized gathering, and Houston police said a June teen takeover at Discovery Green drew about 500 to 600 juveniles and adults and ended with arrests.
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