8 Teens arrested after brawl at Providence Place mall
Providence RI December 30 2019
Eight juveniles were arrested Saturday night in and around the Providence Place mall after a series of brawls.
The minors fought with each other, punched a security guard in the face and blocked traffic outside the mall, police said.
Police are now investigating whether social media might have played a role in arranging a meeting place for the fights, Major David Lapatin of the Providence Police Department said.
In the first incident, starting at about 9 p.m., police intervened to help security separate two males from a larger group of people. They tried to escort the two groups out separately, but one of the groups started running back toward the first two males.
Police and security again intervened. Two people were handcuffed on the first floor; several other juveniles started fighting with each other on that floor.
In the melee that followed, one of the suspects punched a security guard in the face, the security guard told police. He used work-issued pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Another security guard reported seeing the same boy with a folding knife.
The knife was knocked out of the boy’s hand, and later recovered by police. The boy was charged with assault and weapon possession. Four others were arrested in that incident, the rest facing disorderly conduct charges.
As police and security tried to deal with that incident, another huge group of people headed out the Francis Street exit, police said. More fights and disturbances broke out there: Two girls fought in the middle of the roadway, while another girl tried to rile up the crowd and told police they weren’t leaving.
Three juveniles were taken into custody in that incident on disorderly conduct charges. One was from Cranston, one Providence and one Pawtucket, police said.
Videos on social media showed large crowds amid the fights, but police said many people were just onlookers, not participants.
A spokesperson for Providence Place responded in an email, “We are disheartened by the isolated incident that occurred last night in our shopping center. We strive to be a safe, peaceful destination for our community and we have zero tolerance for this terrible behavior. We are grateful for our security and partners at the Providence Police Department. We are evaluating our security protocols but we do not publicly disclose details of our program.”
“We have a strict Code of Conduct that is available on our website and displayed throughout the shopping center. Everyone is required to abide by our Code of Conduct,” she added.
Providence Journal
