The Mall Brawl
Chaos broke out on December 26th, in the St. Matthews mall, causing it to close early. Multiple riots took place throughout numerous parts in the mall, with around 2,000 middle and high-schoolers involved. Officials stated that the fights may have been started verbally over social media the day before, and then spilled over into real fights at around 7 pm. There were reports of gunshots being heard from pedestrians, but nothing was confirmed. One of the mall security officers trying to keep the peace, Officer McDonald, told reporters that, "it was impossible to keep the fights under control without backup. Once you broke up one fight there were ten more that were taking place." Once backup was called, the fight was finally put under control at around 9:30 pm. Official reports stated that nobody was seriously injured from the fights, but it was still a scary situation that would have gotten way out of hand if not handled immediately. There was great concern from pedestrians and parents around the area. Facebook and Twitter erupted with comments regarding the treatment of the rioters, none of whom were arrested. Many of the parents were displeased and called it a "slap on the wrist." Pedestrians that saw the fights taking place first-person were scared and concerned. A fourteen year old girl that witnessed the fight said, "It was the day after Christmas, and I was trying to buy stuff with my gift card, and then when the fighting broke out, we were forced to leave and I was scared for my aunt that came with me because I couldn't find her." It was a disturbing scene for everyone who watched, and new rules had to be put in place so that something like this does not happen again. The mall instituted a rule that states that all minors under eighteen must be accompanied by someone over twenty-one after 4 pm anywhere within the mall. There were many mixed feelings towards this, but it does prevent the overwhelming number of juveniles left unsupervised, and it will hopefully prevent any immature acts in the future. The duration of this law is uncertain, but regardless of what many think of it, it is put in place to keep peace and protect innocent bystanders who had to deal with this chaos.
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