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Family Attacked After Shushing Teens in Theater

STROUD TOWNSHIP — The next time you feel like telling someone to be quiet at a movie theater, you may think of this story. A family was attacked after see...
mon easter attack

STROUD TOWNSHIP -- The next time you feel like telling someone to be quiet at a movie theater, you may think of this story.

A family was attacked after seeing a movie Easter Sunday evening at the Stroud Mall and they believe it happened because they told some teenagers during the movie to pipe down.

A woman says she just came to see a movie Easter Sunday with her family, when a rowdy group of teens sitting behind her not only harassed her family inside the theater, they allegedly assaulted some of them later in the parking lot and took off.

A black eye, a broken eye socket, and bruises all over -- Cindy Santamaria-Williams says this all happened outside the Stroud Mall after an Easter Sunday showing of "Furious 7."

"The three girls they were sitting behind us. They were very loud, rowdy. They were cursing a lot," said Santamaria-Williams.

Santamaria-Williams told us she turned around and told the teens to quiet down.

After the movie and after complaining to management, she says those teens were waiting for her outside, along with three more girls and two teenage boys.

Santamaria-Williams told us what the girls said.

"'When one swings, we all swing,' and they immediately jumped on me and knocked me to the ground and punched me in the face. I think that's what knocked me to the ground."

Both Santamaria-Williams and her sister-in-law were hurt.

Stroud Area Regional Police Chief William Parrish says they are investigating the incident, one that concerns them a great deal.

"When you go to the movies, you don't need to be at risk to have your family endangered and we're talking about even Easter Sunday, you know, to come out and be engaged in this," said Chief Parrish.

Now Stroud Area Regional Police along with the victim want to find all of the individuals involved in that alleged assault outside the food court and find out exactly what happened.

"We are trying to identify this group of teenagers. We're looking at video from the mall and we do have some descriptions of some of the females," said Chief Parrish.

Santamaria-Williams believes she saw someone recording the incident on a smart phone and is asking them to come forward.

Stephen Feuer visits the mall near Stroudsburg often and says this type of violence is troubling.

"It's very upsetting. And I thought that in a place like this it would be safe for people to go," said Feuer.

Santamaria-Williams says she won't rest until these teens are caught and likely charged.

"I can ID those girls. They were in my face. Their face is in my head. If I see them again in a line up, I know exactly who they are," she said.

The family is offering a reward to anyone who comes forward with information or that cell phone video that may lead to an arrest.

Police say the teens involved likely could face simple assault charges.

Anyone with information is asked to call Stroud Area Regional Police.

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