Youths (mostly teen girls?) rampage through WI shopping Mall

[HereSince1628]

FYI Mayfair MAll has had historic problems with teenagers in gang fights, it is located in Wauwatosa a near western suburb of Milwaukee.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/112782034.html

Mayfair Mall closed down early on Sunday afternoon as New Year's weekend shoppers were told to leave after witnesses reported seeing groups of unruly young people shouting and running in the Wauwatosa shopping center.

Elsa Mercado was trying on clothes in a fitting room at Ann Taylor Loft when she heard loud noises. Her sister was at another store, and when Mercado tried to leave to check on her, she discovered she was locked in as some of the stores brought down their security gates. "Someone was pounding on our door and saying, 'Please let me in. There's gunfire.' We unlocked the door and let him in. He was very frightened, he was very pale," said Mercado, who used her cell phone to call 911.

Mercado said the 911 dispatcher asked her location.

"They wanted to know where I was; it seemed like they had gotten a lot of calls throughout the mall," said Mercado, who saw a group of rowdy young people she estimated to number around 100. "It was happening throughout the entire mall. It was not isolated to one part of the mall."

"What occurred this afternoon appears to be a group of youth intent on disrupting the shopping experience at Mayfair. The safety and security of our visitors are always our top priority. This behavior is isolated and we will not condone it," Mayfair Senior General Manager Steve Smith said in the statement.

[dembotoz]

1. appears it might have been flash mob or tag or some damn thing i don't understand

perhaps not violence or mob in mind just some sort of teenage thing that got out of control

[TheMightyFavog]

2. Didn't this mall require minors to be accompanied by adults a few years back?

I seem to recall it stirred up quite a bit of controversy at the time.

[keroro gunsou]

3. they still do

and the mall security is NOT very fair when enforcing this policy.... as you can probably imagine.

my aunt and my cousin went there christmas shopping this season. not only did they not bother my cousin, who was off on her own most of the time, two of the security guards i happened to see were giving some african american shoppers a hard time, asking to see their driver's liscences to prove their age...

i complained to the mall management thusly: "there are no black or white dollars, they are all green."

[HereSince1628]

4. Update: Police confirm gun fired during incident...

Note: A connection has been made to Wauwatosa West High School and an intervention by the Mall against a tag-playing flash mob event. 'Tosa West High School is walking distance from the mall...



http://fwix.com/milwaukee/share/72e41b5fb8/wauwatosa_police_confirm_gun_fired_outside_mayfair_mall?referrer=http%3A%2F%2Frawstory.com%2F

Wauwatosa police confirmed on Monday that a gun was fired outside the Mayfair Mall on Sunday in connection with an incident in which large groups of unruly youths ran through the mall, forcing an early shutdown.

Police said that an attempted armed robbery occurred near a bus stop outside the mall. Police were called to the mall after receiving numerous reports of "mostly teenage patrons engaged in acts of disorderly conduct and vandalism."

"There was one reported attempt armed robbery with a confirmed gunshot occurring outside the mall on the parking lot. No one appeared to be injured and no report of injury as a result of the gunshot / attempt armed robbery incident. No one is in custody for this incident," the news release stated.

Police said that, "due to the broad set of circumstances and incidents occurring in and outside the mall, the number of actual participants is unknown. The Mayfair Mall was closed by management about 20 minutes early prior to the normal 6 p.m. closing time. The investigations of several incidents on mall property continue."

Police said several people were taken into custody Sunday night for "various acts" that occurred outside the mall and inside the mall.

Mayor Jill Didier said that her office and police had been in touch with General Growth Properties, the owners and operators of the mall. She said police were still investigating the incident.

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[midnight]

5. This incident should be a notch on the belt of the incoming

Wisconsin republican party that love to carry guns in public places.... BJ acting as attorney general is promoting gun carrying in public places....

[dragonlady]

6. But the gun-carriers could have taken care of the problem

After a few of the teens were shot, the rest would have gotten the message and gone home. :sarcasm:

[midnight]

7. Unfortunately I'm sure that is what they want to happen.....

[HereSince1628]

8. 9 Teens Arrested For Taking Part in Mayfair Mall Mayhem Sunday

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WTAQ)http://whbl.com/news/articles/2011/jan/04/9-teens-arrested-taking-part-mayfair-mall-mayhem-s/

A 17-year-old girl faces an adult charge of retail theft. And the 8 others, as young as 13, have been referred to Children’s Court.

Police said large groups of teens scared customers and employees at the mall. One employee said up to 100 young people knocked over mannequins and clothing racks at the Boston Store after security guards broke up a fight there just minutes earlier.

And police now say that a shot was fired during an attempted armed robbery outside the mall during the disturbances. No one was hurt. Authorities continue to investigate.

David Keating, a spokesman for the mall’s owner, says it’s possible that the incident was planned and carried out using Facebook or Twitter. Police are also looking into that possibility.

Mayfair Mall has a policy in which those 17 and younger must be accompanied by adults after 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Keating said further security measures are being implemented. But he would not say what they are.