Two teenagers were arrested after one of them drove a lawn mower straight through the entrance of a Target store in Ocala, Florida, shattering the glass doors and leaving visible damage behind.
Police said 18-year-old Janek Szkaradek brought the mower to the Target on Southwest College Road, unloading it from a trailer before steering it directly into the store.
As the mower smashed through the entrance, another 18-year-old, Luke Charske, stood by recording the stunt on video for social media.
Witness Vanessa Scarlett said she was already inside the store when the insane stunt happened right in front of her.
“The last thing you expect to see inside a Target is a lawn mower coming through the door,” Scarlett stated.
She began filming after realizing what was happening, capturing the aftermath as glass shattered and debris scattered across the entrance.
“He actually drove straight into the door first and shattered it. It was quite interesting,” Scarlett said.
Police later confirmed that both Szkaradek and Charske were taken into custody following the incident.
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Szkaradek was charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, while both teens face disorderly conduct charges tied to the stunt. Charske was also charged as a principal for his role in filming the act.
Investigators said the damage remained visible at the store after the incident, with broken glass and boarded-up sections covering the entrance.
Authorities also said the behavior did not begin at Target. The night before, Szkaradek allegedly entered a Culver’s restaurant on the same road and used a leaf blower inside.
Scarlett described the situation as both reckless and predictable in its outcome.
“I think they are teenagers that definitely got the consequence that a lot of people think they deserved. But I also think to give them some grace, because they are teenage boys,” she said.
Police pointed out that what may have started as an attempt to create viral content resulted in criminal charges and property damage.
“These actions endangered people and caused property damage,” a spokesperson for the Ocala Police Department said. “They are crimes, not harmless videos.”
Officers also issued a warning directed at others who might consider similar behavior. “Think before you record- It’s not worth an arrest and a criminal charge,” police cautioned.
Jail records show both Szkaradek and Charske were later released on bond.
A similar push for social media content ended far more severely earlier this year in New York City, where a 16-year-old boy fell roughly 50 feet inside the Queensboro Bridge while attempting to film a stunt.
Police said the teenager, identified as Frankie Allocca, had climbed down into a narrow passage within the bridge’s structure before losing his footing and dropping into a shaft below. The fall left him trapped deep inside the bridge.
Authorities said no 911 call was placed immediately after the fall. According to investigators, Allocca remained at the bottom of the shaft for nearly three hours before emergency crews were alerted.
Police said they did not receive a 911 call until 5:46 p.m., despite the fall occurring earlier in the afternoon. According to investigators, an 18-year-old girl who was not on the bridge ultimately contacted 911 after being told about the fall by the group.
Authorities said the teens who were at the scene had been discussing the incident for hours in a private chat before she realized first responders had never been notified and made the call herself. Even after the call came in, locating him inside the bridge proved difficult.
When responders arrived, they initially struggled to pinpoint his location inside the complex structure.
Firefighters eventually spotted signs of his presence, including a shoe and blood, before reaching him in the confined space.
An FDNY firefighter described Allocca’s condition when they found him. “Just mumbling from the major trauma he experienced,” the firefighter said.
Firefighters from Rescue One were not able to reach Allocca until later in the evening, and extracting him from the narrow shaft required a prolonged effort using specialized equipment.
He was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center as a “code red patient,” indicating life-threatening injuries.
The rescue required a large-scale effort involving dozens of emergency personnel, with crews using ropes, harnesses, and high-angle equipment to safely remove him from the shaft.
“This was a confined space operation, which is a very difficult, time-consuming, man-powered, intensive operation,” FDNY Deputy Chief Nicholas Corrado said. “It involves high-angle equipment, ropes. We have to monitor the air and create high points.”
Authorities said Allocca had planned to film the stunt for TikTok before the fall.
A GoFundMe page created for him described the aftermath of the incident, alleging that others present at the scene did not immediately seek help.
“No one deserves to be abandoned in their worst moment,” the family wrote. “Frankie suffered a life-threatening fall in New York City that left him critically injured.”
The page also claimed that people nearby recorded him instead of helping as he called out for assistance.
“After he fell, the people he was with recorded him as he screamed for help. Instead of helping him, they left him there,” the post reads. “By the time help arrived, he had lost a severe amount of blood and was hypothermic.”
Allocca’s mother, Vanessa Tineo, said her son sustained serious injuries and would need to relearn how to walk.
Tineo said the group of teens who had been with him at the time of the fall abandoned him after the incident.
“left him there to die,” she said in an interview, describing what happened after her son fell into the shaft.
Police later arrested several minors in connection with the incident, charging them with offenses including criminal trespassing and reckless endangerment.
Authorities said the case is being handled in Family Court, and the names of those charged have not been released due to their ages.
