People in one St. Petersburg community say local kids, waiting for the school bus, are causing chaos on their street.
“They’re basically terrorizing the neighborhood and they need some control,” said Dawn Zarnowski, who lives near Azalea Middle School. The bus stop is directly in front of her yard.
Before and after school, Zarnowski says kids are trespassing on her property, leaving litter on the street and in her yard and even fighting.
One neighbor, who asked to not be on camera, told us he recently pulled apart two children who were fighting in the middle of the street.
Zarnowski told ABC Action News she’s even seen kids throwing food at one of her neighbors.
But the final straw for her was property damage.
“There’s a great big dent on my car and that’s when I called the police,” she said.
She filed a police report with the St. Petersburg Police Department and then went to the Pinellas County School Board, asking to get the bus stop moved.
Zarnowski said an officer came out and documented the dent and took photographs, but heard nothing back.
She also said she heard nothing additional from the Pinellas County School District.
“I’ve asked and asked and asked repeatedly for help,” Zarnowski said. “I have done my due diligence in this situation.”
ABC Action News went to the Pinellas County School District and St. Petersburg Police to take a deeper look at the situation.
St. Petersburg Police said they didn’t have enough evidence to move further with the case.
Police say Zarnowski needs to contact law enforcement every time she sees a crime being committed in this situation, so officers can handle the situation as it’s happening.
Pinellas County Schools is still looking into whether the school bus stop can be moved.
