Mom incites riot outside skating rink over daughter’s canceled party, Florida cops say

A strip mall riot that ended in nearly 30 arrests was the doings of a single woman enraged over her daughter’s skate party being canceled, according to Florida investigators.

Stephanie Pedroso, 36, was arrested Wednesday, July 10, on charges of inciting a riot and unlawful use of a two-way communication device to “weaponize” rioters, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The arrest came nearly two months after a melee erupted outside Astro Skate in Brandon, a roller-skating rink about a 15-mile drive east from downtown Tampa.

As many as 500 people participated, many of them responding to a social media call to “confront law enforcement,” according to investigators.

“Using social media to weaponize our youth is absolutely deplorable,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the release.

“As a parent, I cannot fathom what went through this woman’s mind when she put lives at risk to provoke this mayhem.”

Investigators say Pedroso called for violence after Astro Skate canceled an “after-hours birthday party” arranged for her daughter for May 18.

“In breach of the Astro Skate contract, (Pedroso) failed to secure the required off-duty deputies for the after-hours party,” officials said.

“Astro Skate canceled the reservation on May 17 (and) Pedroso was issued a refund. That’s when Pedroso used her daughter’s social media to make a live video encouraging friends to show up to inflict violence in the community, which included many of the businesses around Astro Skate.”

Evidence included an Instagram live video stream that showed Pedroso “making multiple violent and vulgar statements” and offering people money to participate, officials said.

The violence lasted nearly six hours and “led to one injury and five local businesses sustaining damage,” the sheriff’s office said.

Twenty-three juveniles and six adults were arrested, according to the sheriff’s office.

“I want to be clear: using social media to encourage people to riot and destroy businesses is completely unacceptable, and we will not tolerate that,” Chronister said in the release.

“This serves as a stark reminder of how quickly situations can spiral out of control and show the importance of responsible behavior and the consequences of inciting violence.”

Astro Skate did not address the incident directly on social media, but did cancel a Sunday All Night Skate event the following weekend “due to safety concerns.”