Nineteen teenagers have been arrested following a disturbance that shut down the Ford City Mall and left two people with minor injuries in Chicago on Saturday, according to the Associated Press.
Officer Laura Kubiak said the teens arrested Saturday were both male and female and ranged in age from 13 to 18.
Most are charged with misdemeanor mob action. A 16-year-old was charged with battery of a mall security guard who was trying to evacuate the mall. Ford City Mall senior general manager John Sarama said the incident wasn't related to an appearance by the boy band Mindless Behavior, which ended about 45 minutes earlier.
Police said a large group of teens started causing chaos inside the mall. The disturbance continued in the parking lot, where some teens climbed on top of cars.
Even after officials closed the mall, chaos ensued outside where police found between 100 and 200 people damaging vehicles in the shopping center's parking lot, according to a police report. A CTA bus driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, said Roccasalva, who said he did not know what happened to him.
Traffic came to a standstill as teenagers jumped on cars, both parked and moving, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Tribune. Many of those involved ignored orders to disperse, which led to police arrests.
One teenager was charged with battery, and another was charged with criminal trespassing, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said. The 17 remaining teens were charged with mob action.
The mall did not sustain any property damage apart from a single broken planter, which reopened on Sunday.
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