Social media in Lower Bucks County blew up Wednesday evening after an upset mother shared a story about her son being stuck outside in a storm.
A post from Tracy Giambrone, which has since been deleted or made private, stated her 13-year-old son Colin was fishing at Lake Caroline and attempted to take shelter at the nearby Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce office on Hood Boulevard in Falls Township when an afternoon storm rolled in. She claimed that when her son tried to gain access to the building, the teen with his fishing gear was told he could not enter.
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The post included a video shot from in front of the building, which includes an overhang, shows a lightning bolt striking a tree not very far away.
The post quickly went viral locally and garnered a strong reaction from residents. The reaction was mainly negative and comments were posted to the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.
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“Are you freaking kidding me with this??? One young boy, only one needed your help and you turned him away. What if this ended tragically what would you saying then?” one post read.
“You could have found a way to help a 13-year-old CHILD during a severe weather event and supervised the situation. You should be ashamed of yourselves,” another said.
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There were a few posts that defended the nonprofit business networking group’s response.
“It is easy for everyone to play Monday morning quarterback and try to blame the LBCCC or suggest that the LBCCC should change their policy on the fly, but anyone that understands policy also understands that deviating from policy is how you face litigation regardless of your intentions,” one person wrote.
The story gained even more traction after it was featured on 6abc’s 11 p.m. newscast.
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The Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce put out a statement Wednesday evening that noted “we do our best to protect everyone, including our chamber members and employees. Our facility is a secured location and as a result we follow a security protocol.”
“I personally would like to apologize for the events that occurred this afternoon. The current policy & procedures will be reviewed with the Executive Board at the next meeting,” a later Facebook post from Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Minesh Pathak said.
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On Thursday morning, the chamber released a further statement to LevittownNow.com:
“Yesterday we made a mistake when a young teen was seeking shelter from the storm inside the LBCCC building. We have recently had several security issues and we allowed those experiences to cloud our judgement. We very much regret what happened yesterday and will be reaching out to the young man and his family to try to set things right.”
Giambrone did not respond to a request for comment from this news organization on Thursday morning.
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