Police say at this point, they have no evidence Monday night’s fight at the Town Center of Aurora was connected to a slew of other national incidents.
About 500 people were involved in what Aurora Police characterized as a “large disturbance” that broke out at around 4:45 p.m. Monday in the mall’s food court, and later expanded to the Century 16 and RTD Park and Ride lot.
There were other fights in malls across the country Monday including in New Jersey and Arizona. Aurora officers cannot link those disturbances and the one in Aurora.
"At this point, we cannot make that connection. We do not have any evidence to show that our incident is related to any of the incidents that happened around the country,” Sgt. Chris Amsler said.
Police say the incident started when an off-duty officer doing security for the mall saw two girls fighting. When he tried to break up the fight and arrest the 13-year-old, he started getting surrounded by around 100 other unruly teens, and that’s when he called for backup.
Ultimately, 50 officers responded as they worked to evacuate the mall as more brawls erupted. There were about 3,000 people inside at the time.
Aurora Police believe the large group of teens were at the Town Center for another reason besides just to hang out.
"We received some information after this incident occurred that there was a Facebook post that announced there would be a fight at the mall and that's what we believe drew this crowd of people to be at the mall last night,” Amsler said.
Five teens were arrested for disorderly conduct and obstructing a police officer. Four of them were girls, who were 13, 14, 15 and 16 years old. The fifth was a 15-year-old boy.
Their names have not been released.
Despite reports to the contrary on social media, police say no weapons were found, and no property was damaged.
Aurora Police say they did receive one complaint that excessive force was used. They are reviewing their body cameras for evidence.
They also said no stun guns or pepper spray were deployed.
"We are just very thankful that this just didn't escalate into a much more dangerous situation," Amsler said.
The Town Center of Aurora reopened as scheduled at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Don Cloutier, the general manager of the Town Center of Aurora, issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying:
"Town Center at Aurora’s top priority is the safety of our shoppers, retailers and employees. We applaud the Aurora and Denver Police Departments, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and our security team for their quick response in handling this isolated incident with no reported injuries."
The melee in Aurora came amid multiple other reports of mall fights across the country. Disturbances led to some malls being evacuated in Elizabeth, N.J.; Fayetteville, N.C.; East Garden City, N.Y.; Tempe, Ariz; Cleveland suburb Beachwood Place; and Memphis.
About 10 people were injured in the New Jersey disturbance, and eight were arrested in Memphis.
Aurora Police say they believe Monday’s fight was a coincidence and unrelated to the national ones.
In the meantime, investigators are working to piece together more information about what led up to the brawl -- and whether it is gang related.
Patrols will also be increased at the mall.
The day after a mall fight involving 500 at Town Center at Aurora
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
