A group of 2,000 teens shut down Mall St. Matthews in Louisville, Kentucky. The violent clash between the groups of teens caused panicked chaos in the mall and a massive police response to the shopping center. The fight at the mall happened around 7 p.m. the day after Christmas.
Many Mall St. Matthews shoppers ran into stores to huddle together for the sake of safety as 2,000 teens took over the Kentucky mall. When store managers attempted to close to prevent the rioting in the mall from spreading into shops, fearful customers refused to leave. Reports of shots being fired both inside and outside of the mall have not yet been confirmed.
Mall St. Matthews management ultimately decided to close down the entire mall as police officers worked quickly to get the teens under control. After a similar all-out brawl took place at the Louisville mall on Black Friday, local law enforcement officers increased their presence at the shopping center, Lexington Channel 18 News reports.
“This is something that we did not foresee and even with an enhanced police presence when you have that many juveniles with wrong intentions, one feeding upon the other, this is the kind of thing that happens,” St. Matthews Police Department spokesman Dennis McDonald told local reporters.
A mutual aid call went out to area police departments to help deal with the 2,000 teens who shut down Mall St. Matthews on Saturday. After the mall managers opted to shut down the shopping venue on a heavy traffic day, many of the teens involved in the melee reportedly scattered to other nearby businesses and continued to fight. Police officials urged nearby stores and restaurants to close down early to prevent further escalation of the fight and potential injury to staff and customers.
Police: ‘Riots’ shut down Mall St. Matthews early https://t.co/1YG1nYj9BH via @WHAS11 #LOUISVILLE , KY pic.twitter.com/eilywFrQaL
— Say No to the TPP (@kencampbell66) December 28, 2015
It took police officers from three departments, a law enforcement helicopter, and various K-9 units to thwart the chaos caused by the middle school and high school teenagers, WFLA News reports. No injuries were reported and no arrests were made during the Mall St. Matthews incident. Police officials told local news outlets that no arrests were made primarily because the officers were extremely busy attempting to break up fights. As soon as the they raced to where an outburst was occurring, the teens had fled to another area in the Louisville mall or outdoors.
“We need help. We need people over here” https://t.co/b6wLMFGQHF @MallStMatthews (s/o to @beatrice_kaylee for video) pic.twitter.com/d5dymmcscg
— Toni Konz (@tkonz) December 27, 2015
The Mall St. Matthews code of conduct details disruptive and illegal behavior deemed unacceptable at the Kentucky shopping center and also states that those engaged in such activities may be arrested and charged with criminal trespassing, the shopping center’s website states. Unless Louisville police officers can identify the teens involved in the fights that shut down the mall, it is unlikely any of the 2,000 minors will be placed in handcuffs.
[NEW] Surveillance video captures young people running through Mall St. Matthews last night. Latest @ 6:30 on @WLKY . pic.twitter.com/JGlZ8lEmxe
— Anna-Lysa Gayle ™ (@WLKYAnnalysa) December 27, 2015
What do you think about the teens shutting down the Louisville mall? Have you stopped visiting shopping centers due to safety concerns?
[Image via Shutterstock.com ]
