'Not a one-off': Sunset Pool 'flash mob' of 2025 still shaping DuPage public safety debate
A year after hundreds of teens descended on Glen Ellyn's Sunset Pool in a social media-organized "flash mob" that sent fireworks exploding into crowds and forced an emergency evacuation, the disturbance continues to leave its mark on the community.
What began as a July 5, 2025 afternoon at the public pool quickly escalated into one of the Chicago suburbs' most widely publicized public safety incidents, drawing national and international attention as videos of the chaos spread across social media.
Police estimated that 200 to 300 teens and young adults converged on the pool after an online promotion originally advertising a gathering at Naperville's Centennial Beach was redirected to Glen Ellyn.
Videos posted online show the caravan of vehicles driving toward the pool, with people hanging out of cars, "twerking" to booming music.
"They were drinking and smoking weed and swearing a lot," a Glen Ellyn teen present at the pool at the time told DuPage Policy Journal. "Someone threw a lit cigar into the pool."
Authorities and witnesses reported seeing attendees enter without paying and engage in disorderly behavior throughout the facility.
"I saw Miller Lite bottles and girls drinking on-the-rocks cosmos," the teen said. "They were taking people's stuff and moving it from their pool chairs."
During the incident, pool manager Christine Giunta-Mayer was pushed into the pool.
Screenshot from a video showing Sunset Pool manager Christine Giunta-Mayer being fished out after being pushed into the pool. (Instagram / duffyclipzz)
Video of the confrontation circulated widely online in the weeks after the disturbance as police continued investigating the incident.
On July 9, a judge signed a warrant charging Alyah R. Collins with battery in connection with the pool manager being pushed into the water. Collins was arrested Sept. 1, according to Glen Ellyn police. Court records later show she was found not guilty after a judge entered directed findings of not guilty at the close of the prosecution's case.
Court records also show the case against 19-year-old Beverly native Jahad K. Henderson, arrested after the disturbance, remains pending on charges of possession, sale or use of fireworks, obstructing a police officer, making an improper U-turn and driving with expired registration.
Jahad K. Henderson was arrested at the Sunset Pool “flash mob” and is charged with fireworks violations, obstructing police, improper U-turn, and driving with expired registration; his case remains pending in DuPage County court. (Glen Ellyn Police Department)
According to a Glen Ellyn police incident report, a lit mortar-style firework was thrown from Henderson's SUV into a crowd near Sunset Pool, exploding near officers and bystanders.
Police pulled Henderson over following the illegal u-turn.
Investigators later identified rear-seat passenger Marlo Moore through body-worn camera footage, leading to a warrant charging him with reckless conduct and fireworks violations. Court records show the case has since been closed.
In response to the disturbance, the Glen Ellyn Park District announced new security measures, including requiring physical pool passes for admission.
Several participants in the July 5 Sunset Pool “flash mob” gathered as hundreds of teens and young adults converged on the facility, prompting evacuation and a multi-agency police response. (Instagram / duffyclipzz)
"Not a one-off"
One year later, DuPage County law enforcement agencies continue responding to similar gatherings. Naperville Police arrested nine people during a June 2026 downtown "teen takeover," while Lombard warned residents about social media-organized youth "street takeovers" involving dozens of teens on motorized bikes and scooters.
"We want people to come to our city, patronize our businesses, and enjoy all the amenities Naperville has to offer. But if you break the law, there will be no warnings; there will be no second chances," Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said, according to NBC5.
Kristina McCloy, founder of Hinsdale-based Concerned Parents of Illinois, said she believes the recent incidents demonstrate what she views as the spillover of Chicago's failed public safety policies into suburban communities.
“This is not a one-off," McCloy told the DuPage Policy Journal. "The same troubling pattern struck Naperville with a shocking black teen takeover on June 1, 2026, and has already reached Oak Brook, including the March 2026 multi-store bear spray theft spree by three Chicago teens and the June 2026 high-speed chase after a $1,000+ theft by a 17-year-old."
She cited the rise in fleeing-and-eluding cases in the region.
“Fleeing-and-eluding cases in DuPage County have surged 159% from 2020 to 2025 amid this spillover,” McCloy said. “Virtue-signaling, ignorant Democrat voters in Glen Ellyn—who were so offended that day—continue backing and voting for the very policies enabling this chaos.”
McCloy also criticized the DuPage County Board and Gov. J.B. Pritzker for expanding the county's Section 8 housing stock, arguing the policy is adding to safety concerns.
“Their Village Board and DuPage County Board members—RINOs and Democrats alike—voted to bring Section 8 housing into Glen Ellyn, so they can expect more of this,” she said. “It’s time they change their voting habits, hold their officials accountable, and put suburban safety first—instead of turning our suburbs into Chicago."
She said the Sunset Pool flash mob remains a defining moment in the debate over public safety in the suburbs.
“I remain deeply disturbed by last summer’s 'teen takeover' at Glen Ellyn’s Sunset Pool—a public space where my young nieces and local families should enjoy safe, wholesome summer days,” she said. “Friends with small children witnessed shocking scenes: sexual twerking, teens in barely-there bathing suits, open drug and alcohol use, vulgar language, and chaotic behavior from a large swarm of black teens from Chicago. A pool manager was thrown into the pool against her will, forcing an early shutdown that ruined the day for tax-paying families.”