Teens arrested after injuring employee during attempted shoplifting incident at downtown Indy business

INDIANAPOLIS — An employee at a local candy store is recovering after police say she was attacked by two teenagers over the weekend.

Officers were called to the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop on Monument Circle on Saturday for a report of an assault and theft.

The store's owner, Kim Nething, tells WRTV that a group of teens came into the store and attempted to shoplift.

She says her employee and friend, Jo, tried to stop them and they attacked her.

"As she was trying to retrieve some product from one of the other boys that was trying to grab an arm full, another gal just came right up behind her and just started punching her," Nething said. "Punching her face, punching her head... and continued out the door until she went to the ground where they continued."

According to the police report, a 13 year old and a 16 year old have both been arrested. They're both facing battery charges and the 16 year old is also charged with injuring a police officer.

"She feels the pain of her injuries," Nething said. "She is more just disappointed that there are these young kids that have the audacity to think that this kind of behavior is okay."

Nething isn't the owner business owner in downtown Indianapolis that has been having an issue with young shoplifters and violence.

Doug Stephenson, who owns Downtown Comics, says the uptick in teen violence is impacting all mom and pop shops in the area.

"We've had a problem with a group of kids down here for the last month or so,"

"They come into our place and try to take a $5 item off of me or Kim or Joe, that's $5 right out of our pocket," Stephenson said. "We can't afford to do that... let everybody o that, so we step in and try to stop them and end up in an altercation."

Indianapolis Office of Public Health & Safety and the Indy public Safety Foundation are offering summer activities for older teens during their first ever "Summer in the City".

The seven week program offers teens ages 16 to 19 the opportunity to learn skills such as cooking, fitness and dance.

They're hoping the program will help divert attention to something more beneficial.

Business owners like Stephenson and Nething say they hope parents start taking advantage of the offerings. They're also asking them to have conversations with their kids in order to prevent these violent incidents.

"It's all about accountability and it starts at home," Nething said.

"You can't just turn 12, 15 year old kids loose on the streets of downtown Indianapolis," Stephenson said. "I mean, they just can't come down here unsupervised."