19 arrested at mall in Chicago
Clothes on sale at a JC Penney store in the North Riverside Park Mall in North Riverside, Ill., on Feb. 1, 2012.
Nineteen teenagers have been arrested after a mob broke out at the Ford City Mall in Chicago. "It was like a little riot," one woman told CBS Chicago. She said it erupted after two young men started fighting.
Chicago Police Officer Laura Kubiak says the teens arrested Saturday were both male and female and ranged from ages 13 to 18, the Associated Press reported. Most are charged with misdemeanor mob action and one 16-year-old is charged with battery of a mall security guard.
More from GlobalPost: Chicago's homicide rate up 38 percent
Chicago police officers were outnumbered by more than 100 people running through the mall and a group of about 30 who threw signs and damaged cars, WTVR reported. There had been a large crowd gathered at the mall about 45 minutes earlier for an autograph signing by boy band Mindless Behavior.
But Ford City Mall senior general manager John Sarama told the AP that the mob wasn't related to the Mindless Behavior appearance.
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!