Police: Mall brawl appears to have been organized online
Was the chaos coordinated or coincidence? Reaction from Wendy Patrick, veteran prosecutor and trial attorney, and Troy Slaten, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor
AURORA, Colo. – Police evacuated a suburban Denver mall Monday after an arrest led to hundreds of young people converging on the site, with several fights breaking out, authorities said.
No one was seriously injured but five juveniles were arrested during the disturbance at the Town Center at Aurora, police spokesman Sgt. Chris Amsler said.
Trouble started during the arrest of a person suspected of fighting and an unruly crowd surrounded the scene, the Aurora officer said.
"As the officer was attempting to escort the arrestee to the Aurora Police Substation inside of the Town Center the crowd continued to advance on the officer and several other fights broke out," he said.
Police said they suspect that postings on social media drew more people to the site.
"The crowd grew in size to approximately 500 people (mostly juveniles)," Amsler said.
Authorities shut down the mall as dozens of police converged on the scene and worked to restore order.
Amsler said fights continued as the crowd moved into the parking lot area.
The charges against the five people arrested included disorderly conduct, obstruction and resisting arrest.
The disturbance was one of several at shopping malls around the country that disrupted post-Christmas shopping.
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AP writers Michelle Monroe and Bob Seavey in Phoenix contributed to this report.
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