Chicago police arrested 19 teens, ranging from 13 to 18 years of age, after a melee broke out at a mall on Saturday following the appearance of the aptly named hip hop boy band "Mindless Behavior."
The mob of teens numbered in the hundreds, according to local affiliate
CBS Chicago which aired cell phone video showing packs of the teens spilling out from the Ford City Mall swarming around and stepping over numerous cars in the parking lot.
One adult and one teenager were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries sustained during the incident, while there were several accounts of property damage both inside and outside the mall, according to authorities.
The mall immediately closed as a result of the melee.
Ford City Mall senior general manager John Sarama claimed the incident wasn't related to an appearance by the boy band, telling The Associated Press the event ended about 45 minutes before the melee began.
According to Sarama, the "family event" was attended by approximately 1,000 young girls and their mothers, in contrast to the group of primarily "older youths" that later caused havoc inside the mall and in its parking lot.
According to witnesses, mall security guards were quickly overwhelmed by the teenage mob. Chicago police werein the vicinity and responded quickly to disperse the crowd.
"We were lucky we had Chicago police on the premises. They observed what was going on. It was their directive to close the mall early," Samara said.
The incident appeared to have started as a result of a fight between two teens.
"It was crazy, it was like a little riot," mall employee Jasmine Murillo told CBS News.
"One boy said something to another boy, [they] started fighting. Mall security couldn't even handle both of them together."
"They was running around, jumping on top of cars in the intersection . . . Knocking out windshields, rear view mirrors, trying to get inside stores, stopping traffic, throwing stuff at the police. Anything you could think of, they was doing it," another person told CBS News.
One 16-year-old who was charged with battery of a mall security guard trying to evacuate the mall and the remaining 18 youths were all charged with misdemeanors. Additional arrests may follow according to police, who are still examining video from the scene.
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