FREMONT — Fremont police arrested two kids and ticketed at least a dozen others over the weekend who were riding bikes in a large group and allegedly blocking traffic, cursing at and flipping off drivers, and even throwing objects at officers who tried to detain them.

Many of the unruly bicyclists were from Hayward or San Leandro and one was from Union City, police said. Authorities couldn’t say why they came to Fremont.

However, the problem doesn’t seem to be a new one in the city. Some residents are telling police similar incidents have been happening frequently for months. The police department is publicizing the incident this time hoping parents will take notice.

The kids, in a group as large as 50 at times, were seen by drivers and officers in multiple spots around the city Saturday afternoon, causing several people to call 911 to report their activity.

“Because it was such a large group, our motivation for putting it out was awareness, and just to also hopefully get some of the information to parents. If your kids are out on bikes on weekends, and they’re going out, they might be involved in this,” Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said Monday.

“Because it’s really hard, they take off so quickly on their bikes, they go in every direction, there’s no way we could ever detain 50 kids on bikes,” she said.

Police issued tickets Saturday to kids for not wearing helmets while riding bikes and others for impeding traffic, or both, according to Bosques. In addition, a 34-year-old man from San Ramon was ticketed for impeding traffic.

Near Mowry Avenue and Cherry Lane, Bosques said police got multiple 911 calls around 3:10 p.m. about kids popping wheelies in front of cars holding up the traffic and cursing at drivers. In other parts of the city, near downtown, one teenager got into an argument with a man at a coffee shop, before trying to ditch police on his bike.

“He just took off, and they were basically following him with lights on, and then they eventually blocked his pathway in front of a business on Fremont Boulevard, and were able to take him into custody,” Bosques said, of a 14-year-old from San Leandro, who was arrested for obstructing police.

The other arrested was a 15-year-old boy from Union City, for obstructing police, impeding traffic, and possessing 14 grams of marijuana, Bosques said. Both boys were brought to the Fremont station and their parents were called to pick them up.

San Leandro police have dealt with similar issues, and at one point in 2018, KPIX reported that authorities there said more than 100 calls were made to 911 in the span of a few months about groups of kids on bikes blocking traffic, hitting car mirrors and doors.

Police later ticketed kids, arrested some, and confiscated some bikes, KPIX reported.

Lt. Ted Henderson of the San Leandro Police Department said Monday groups of kids often establish where to meet up on social media. “It could be in Oakland one day, and Fremont the next,” he said. “It’s a constant problem, and I think once the weather changes and the sun’s out, they’ll be back. What’s hard about it, especially for juveniles, is these are misdemeanors or infractions, so they don’t get a lot of penalties for this activity.”

Bosques said police have also seen video, posted to YouTube last week, of kids on bikes riding through Fremont and Union City, swerving around buses and cars while popping wheelies, and at some points riding directly at oncoming cars before turning out of the way.

The video appeared to be filmed by someone on a bike in the group, but it’s not clear if those kids have any connection to the ones causing issues in Fremont on Saturday, Bosques said.

The Fremont Police Department’s Facebook post about the incident prompted hundreds of comments, some from people claiming they’ve witnessed the behavior first-hand.

Martha Leeson Garcia wrote that she was one of the people who called 911 after seeing the kids at Mowry and Cherry on Saturday.

“They intentionally disrupted traffic, and for what purpose? I’m not even sure how I got through the intersection. I almost hit one of them because he rode right in front of my car on purpose,” she wrote.

Latanya Huggins commented that the issue has been happening for about a year.

“Originally it was fine. Mostly in the Target parking lot at the Fremont Hub. Then they started taking over main streets like Mowry cutting off cars carelessly and without fear. I think it’s great for kids to be out and active but not like this,” Huggins wrote.

“If people are out riding their bikes lawfully, it’s all good. It’s when they start to impede traffic, drive around vehicles…take over streets and intersections, that’s when it becomes too much,” Bosques said.

“We took some enforcement action this weekend as a proactive way to also send a message,” she said, “that we’re not going to tolerate this in Fremont.”