Fight breaks out amid crowd of rowdy kids at Fayette Mall
Lexington KY Jan 29 2018 Extra police were called to Fayette Mall Saturday night after a crowd of about 30 unruly kids was more than mall security and two officers patrolling at the mall could handle.
Two teenage girls were placed under arrest and will be charged with disorderly conduct, said Lexington Police Lt. Jackie Newman.
Newman said the situation began with a group of juveniles at Dillard’s who were knocking merchandise off shelves, knocking over racks, standing on tables and such.
“They were just destroying the store,” she said.
When a store security officer asked the kids to leave, they refused, she said.
At that point, Newman said, two officers who normally patrol the mall on weekends were called to the store. They told the juveniles to leave and began directing them toward the food court.
At the food court, Newman said a fight broke out between two girls at 7:20 p.m.
“The officers went to break it up. They were assaulted,” Newman said. “The group kind of turned on them.”
After officers called for backup and about six officers arrived, Newman said the teens left the mall as directed.
“A lot of parents showed up, I think, picking them up,” she said.
Newman said the kids involved in the mall incident ranged in age from about 10 to about 15 or 16 years old.
The mall’s code of conduct does not include a curfew for minors, except to say that they can’t be at the mall unaccompanied during school hours.
However, Newman said that’s something that police will probably discuss with mall security.
“The mall doesn’t need to be babysitting,” she said.
Newman said the girls involved in the fight were about 15 years old but were refusing to tell officers their names.
The mall’s code of conduct does prevent behavior that creates a disturbance, “noisy or or boisterous activities,” horseplay, fighting, and other similar behaviors.
Police continued to patrol the area around the mall and received reports about juveniles running out of Gordman’s, back into the mall and at the movie theater.
Kentucky.com
