INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - The mall as a hangout spot for teens became a big problem in Indianapolis Monday night.
A huge fight ended in the arrests of 7 teenagers at Castleton Square. The fight was one of several at malls across the country last night.
The parking lot at Castleton Square Mall was packed Tuesday afternoon with security keeping watch inside and out as they always do. Less than 24 hours earlier, it was quite a different scene with police arresting seven teens after at least two fights broke out inside the mall
"The main fight, the one with almost half the arrests, resulted in a beef between two females arguing for three months over social media over another teen boy. Just a ridiculous reason," said Commander Chris Bailey, Indianapolis Metro Police.
No one was hurt. In fact, Bailey says it was over within minutes thanks to the six off-duty officers working inside the mall along with mall security.
The brawl was one of several that took place at malls across the country Monday. Bailey says there's no evidence any were linked.
"We're not able to make any connections via social media or anything else that connects what happened in Castleton to any other incidents across the country," he said.
While there have been a handful of other brawls at Castleton in recent years, Bailey says Simon Properties has worked hard to be proactive.
"They've invested quite a bit in cameras and intelligence center where they do lot of monitoring on social media and any inkling there is at the property they let us know and they respond as well," said Bailey.
He says much of the responsibility lies with parents. The Rev. Charles Harrison with the Ten Point Coalition couldn't agree more.
"We just can't have hundreds of kids coming to the mall unsupervised because it is not the mall's job to babysit the kids. So we certainly need help of parents," said Harrison.
Simon Malls statement:
"Safety is our first priority. When yesterday evening's fight involving unescorted youths broke out, members of our security team and off duty IMPD hired by the mall immediately intervened and stopped the activity. Arrests were then made and business returned to normal. Castleton Square Mall has a long-standing Code of Conduct that prohibits disruptive behavior, and that policy is strictly enforced. We want to thank IMPD's continued efforts to maintain a safe environment for our shoppers and employees."
The Castleton Square incident was one of several disturbances reported at malls around the country Monday.
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, shoppers thought they heard the sound of gunfire and began running out of the mall. When police arrived, they discovered that teens set off fireworks trying to create a distraction to cover-up shoplifting.
Fights also erupted at Malls in New York, Texas, Louisville, Kentucky and Colorado, forcing some malls to close early.
