Did social media play role in string of mall fights across U.S.?
And this one:
Chaotic mall disturbances reported across U.S. on Boxing Day
What they are not saying is that it was hundreds of black teens in each case, and massive fighting and chaos and trampling and malls being shut down.
Example:
Massive brawl involving 150 teenagers at Hulen Mall ( A FT Worth mall) just one of several mall fights across the U.S.
Videos at links in articles
Keep teaching the young people total lawlessness, liberals.
Anything like this happening in a mall near you?
Police are investigating a string of fights in malls across the country on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. There were reports of disturbances in more than a dozen cities Monday, from Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Fort Worth, Texas. Some police departments said they were responding to reports of shootings.
Police believe that, in some situations, postings on social media drew attention to the fights, reports CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan. But while they all happened within a few hours of each other, it’s still unclear whether they occurred by chance or were planned.
Dozens of police officers rushed in to respond to a fight at the Fox Valley Mall outside of Chicago. Confused and panicked shoppers scrambled for building exits. Police say nearly 1,000 teens gathered at the mall before the brawls started at around 6:30 p.m. The mall closed for over an hour.
At a shopping center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, officers armed with long rifles and riot shields searched the food court after someone shouted “gun” after a chair slammed. Hundreds ran for the exits, resulting in at least eight injuries. Video shows corridors choked with shoppers trying to get out.
In Fort Worth, Texas, officers responded to reports of an active shooter, although it turned out there was no gunman.
“Anytime that we’re hearing a mall shooting, and it’s the day after Christmas, you have tons of people holiday shopping, of course the response is going to be just like that. We’re going to get in here as fast we can,” Fort Worth police spokeswoman Tamara Valle said.
Police are still unsure about why nearly a dozen brawls happened around the country. In at least one situation, authorities say social media post may have played a role.
“Running, screaming. I seen a girl get trampled over. It was scary, it was really scary for real,” one witness at Beachwood Place Mall in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood, Ohio said. The mall was placed on lockdown and officers used pepper spray to disperse a large crowd after a fight.
And this one:
Chaotic mall disturbances reported across U.S. on Boxing Day
There were at least 10 disturbances reported at malls across the country on Monday, one of the busiest days of the year.
It’s unclear if any of the incidents are related.
Police in Ohio say officers have used pepper spray to disperse a large crowd following a fight at the Beachwood Place Mall, an upscale shopping mall.
Police said it appeared to have been loosely organized on social media, CBS affiliate WOIO reports.
Officers initially responded to the scene for a report of shots fired. Police later confirmed that there were no gunshots.
One male juvenile was arrested for attempting to strike an officer that was dealing with another disorderly patron, police said. There were no further arrests. The mall was placed on lockdown around 7 p.m. but later reopened.
Just spoke with women who work inside #Beachwood Place. They saw crowd running in panic, not sure what happened. pic.twitter.com/RqYOWkdnX7
— Sara Goldenberg (@SaraGoldenberg) December 27, 2016
A woman who works inside the mall said she witnessed a crowd running in panic. An ambulance arrived on scene around 7:30 p.m. Fire officials say a man and a police officer were exposed to the pepper spray and received medical treatment. No one else was injured.
It was not immediately clear what led to the fight.
At Roosevelt Field mall on Long Island, a fistfight prompted many 911 callers to falsely report gunfire. Nassau County Police Department officials tell Newsday on Monday no shots were actually fired.
Commissioner Thomas Krumpter tells the newspaper shoppers called 911 after reacting to a fight in the food court.
Police responded to The Mills at Jersey Gardens Monday evening after an altercation prompted a panic among shoppers around 5:00 p.m., CBS New York reports.
CBS 1010 WINS reported that police initially received reports of gunshots inside the mall.
Police with long guns searched the food court after shoppers heard a sudden, sharp loud noise.
“It sounded like shots to me,” shopper Carol Kuhn told CBS New York. “I’ve heard gunfire before and that’s what it sounds like to me.”
Many of the shoppers on this busy day-after-Christmas decided to flee, filling back hallways and heading towards emergency exits. Along the way there was some pushing and shoving.
According to Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage, a total of eight to ten people - including two boys and a pregnant woman - were injured in the ensuing chaos with non-life threatening injuries.
They were treated on scene before being transferred to local hospitals for further evaluations, according to the mayor.
“Yelling gunshots in a crowded mall when it didn’t happen clearly ensues a chaotic event which is what we have here,” Bollwage said.
Elizabeth and New Jersey State Police - in addition to Union County Sheriffs - all responded, shutting down roads leading to the mall and bringing traffic to a standstill for several hours.
Jersey Gardens - closed Monday - is scheduled to reopen Tuesday morning.
In Memphis, authorities and witnesses say there have been disturbances at two malls in the city and one of them had to be shut down.
Witnesses at the East Memphis mall say people were told to leave after a dispute between a girl and a boy quickly escalated and involved others. At Wolfchase Galleria, police say a large group of people started a disturbance in the food court area Monday night.
At the Hamilton Place mall in Chattanooga, Tennessee, authorities were called Monday after someone set off fireworks inside the mall, CBS affiliate WDEF reports.
Investigators say a group of individuals set off fireworks, to possibly cover up a shoplifting crime. Police say several people were injured when they were pushed down in the rush to leave the area.
The injuries are minor.
Chattanooga Police have descriptions of the suspects involved, and will be following up on all potential leads as well as looking at video footage to hold them accountable for their actions.
Police in a Denver suburb evacuated a mall due to multiple skirmishes.
Aurora police posted on Twitter that no injuries were reported at the Town Center at Aurora on Monday. Police had earlier characterized the incident as a “large disturbance.”
A man who answered the mall security line told The Associated Press that the mall is on lockdown until further notice. He declined to give his name.
Authorities are asking the public to avoid the area unless picking up a family member.
Officers were working on clearing out parking lots.
A North Carolina mall has been evacuated after a fight sent a crowd of after-Christmas shoppers fleeing.
Fayetteville Police Lt. Todd Joyce says police were called to Cross Creek Mall around 5 p.m. Monday because of a disturbance. He says some teenagers were apparently involved in a fight at the mall.
He said officers found no one injured from the altercation. He says there’s no evidence shots were fired, even though some witnesses thought they heard a gunshot. Witnesses tell media outlets that there was chaos as hundreds tried to flee the mall
Joyce says no arrests have been made, but police are reviewing mall security video to see if charges are warranted.
He says emergency medical personnel were called to assist someone who had a medical episode while fleeing.
Police in Pittsburgh confirmed a “handful” of arrests were made during an “incident involving several youths” at the Monroeville Mall on Monday, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
A fight among a group of teens and young adults was initially confined to a small area of the Monroeville Mall early Monday evening, but the chaos and confusion quickly spread.
“I saw everything. Like, I heard people screaming and running,” Becca Wilhelm said.
“When we first walked in, there was a bunch of people there, like the canine dogs, all the police were there,” Hannah Pulit said.
“And then we walked into Hollister, and we went to walk up to the front to look at more things, and then they were like, ‘You can go out at your own risk.’ ... You had to walk around the entire mall [to get out].”
Despite several witness accounts, mall spokesperson Stacey Keating tells CBS Pittsburgh the mall was never under lockdown.
She says Dick’s Sporting Goods lowered its security gate, but no one was ever locked inside the mall.
Sources close to the investigation tell CBS Pittsburgh multiple juveniles were either held at the police substation at the mall or taken to the main headquarters. Port Authority buses were called for transport. Parents came to pick up many of the teens.
“They were just loaded inside the mall with security guards and everything. There was a ton,” Wilhelm said.
What they are not saying is that it was hundreds of black teens in each case, and massive fighting and chaos and trampling and malls being shut down.
Example:
Massive brawl involving 150 teenagers at Hulen Mall ( A FT Worth mall) just one of several mall fights across the U.S.
Hulen Mall in southwest Fort Worth was on lockdown Monday evening after a brawl involving around 150 teenagers erupted inside.
Police were initially called to the scene after gunshots were reported, but when they were alerted to the fights going on inside of the mall at the food court, according to KXAS-TV (Channel 5).
Seconds before the fights started pic.twitter.com/CzJFNhF3UM
— Sierra (@slimlatina_) December 27, 2016
Seconds before the fights started pic.twitter.com/CzJFNhF3UM
— Sierra (@slimlatina_) December 27, 2016
Pt. 2 @ hulen mall pic.twitter.com/Gv7VPezL37
— Sierra (@slimlatina_) December 27, 2016
While officers were breaking up the fight in the food court, other fights broke out in locations around the mall. Police at one point placed the mall on lockdown.
Fort Worth police officer Tamara Valle said as many as 150 teenagers were involved in the fights, some of whom were cited for fighting.
Hulen Mall was one at least a dozen other malls across the U.S. where fights broke out the day after Christmas.
Police suspected that a hashtag, #BoxingDay, was responsible for orchestrating the brawls, but according to Channel 11, there is no evidence the incidents are connected.
In Aurora, Colo., about 100 people brawled in a food court at the Town Center Mall following a social media post promising a fight, according to a report from CNN.
Much like the events at Hulen Mall, other fights broke out at locations around the mall as police responded to the initial call. In total, about 500 people are believed to be involved in the brawls.
Two malls in Memphis, Tenn., were closed down early after people started disturbances there.
In Fayetteville, police again responded to unconfirmed gunshots at the Red Cross Creek Mall. Instead, police dealt with another brawl at a food court
"Once people start running in that area or chairs are getting knocked over, tables, that sort of thing, that echoes and it could resemble the sound of a gunshot to a lot of people," said Fayetteville police spokesman Shawn Strepay, according to CNN.
In Elizabeth, N.J., police responded to reports of gunshots, but instead encountered a fight and "chaotic panic and everybody running all at once," according to Elizabeth police Officer Greg Jones.
An 8-year-old and a 12-year-old were injured in the fight.
Videos at links in articles
Keep teaching the young people total lawlessness, liberals.
Anything like this happening in a mall near you?
