A Bellwood man faces charges after a security guard pulled a gun in a confrontation over loud music that brought Mokena police to the Urban Air Adventure Park Saturday afternoon, according to police reports.
An armed security guard was attempting to detain a customer at the indoor trampoline venue, 19800 LaGrange Road, after several employees asked the man to turn down his music and he refused, police said.
The man was fighting with the security guard and put his hands in a bag, prompting the security guard to pull his gun, police said.
No shots were fired during or after the incident, said Mokena police Cmdr. Randy Stumpf. The security guard refused medical treatment at the scene, Stumpf said. The business closed for the remainder of Saturday evening.
The 24-year-old Bellwood resident was charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct, assault, battery and resisting a peace officer, Stumpf said.
Mayor Frank Fleischer said he understands residents have concerns about the trampoline park after Saturday’s incident, which initially included false social media reports of shots fired. Fleischer said the village plans to work with the police to evaluate the business and look at how it handles its security and procedures.
The business has been in town about a year, but has had to close due to COVID-19 safety precautions, so the village does not have a lot of data about Urban Air, Fleischer said. Previous incidents have been handled quickly by police.
Stumpf said Mokena police have responded to a handful of calls to Urban Air, but most have been very minor incidents. Many of the calls have been for patrons parking in other business’s parking spaces and having their cars towed or for people congregating in the parking lot, Stumpf said.
No previous problem was comparable to Saturday’s incident, Stumpf said.
Village administrator John Tomasoski said it was premature to talk about any punishments for the business or revoking the business license, similar to when the village of Orland Park revoked the business license of Sky Zone after police were called to an incident there involving hundreds of minors. Sky Zone remains open while a lawsuit challenging Orland Park’s action is pending.
Tomasoski said that the Mokena’s goal is to balance the safety and welfare of the community with the business’s success.
Fleischer agreed, saying the village wants to be fair to the business, but “residents are the village’s first priority.”
Management of Urban Air Adventure Park did not immediately return calls Monday. But the business did apologize for the incident on its Facebook page Monday, saying they know the incident was scary for the children, parents and employees in attendance Saturday.
The park acknowledged that people have questioned why there is an armed
guard at its business, and said that many schools, churches and large gatherings employ armed security guards.
“Unfortunately, as a society, we have been confronted with far too many tragic events,” the company wrote on its Facebook page. “Our decision to have armed security is solely intended to prevent such an event from ever occurring within our establishment. Had this out of control individual assaulted a child or another guest, we would not want to have to answer questions on why we didn’t provide proper security.”
The company wrote that they want to provide a safe and family friendly place for children and their parents and they will learn from Saturday’s incident.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.