Mall rumble was planned on Web sites

The fight that closed down Fashion Square mall Friday night was the result of a pre-arranged meeting between students from two high schools, according to a mall official.

“Two different high schools had, I guess, through social networking decided they were all going to come to the mall via public transportation,” mall Manager Karen Weiner said.

Cpl. Ken Richardson of the Albemarle County Police Department said the fight, involving a large number of teenagers, started in the parking lot.

“It was just a disagreement between students who agreed to meet in one area,” he said. “And they met and the fight progressed into the mall.”

A news release from Simon Malls, the company that owns Fashion Square, described what happened next.

“Mall security and local law enforcement responded to the scene as the crowd of juveniles ran into the shopping center and caused a great deal of commotion,” the release reads.

The mall was briefly closed as a result of the fighting and tumult.

Jennifer Meyer, assistant manager at the Body Central clothing store, said she isn’t worried about security at the mall.

“It is what it is at this point,” she said, adding, “There were cops everywhere, and they responded quickly.”

Albemarle County police are continuing to investigate Friday’s outbreak, Richardson said.

Richardson said the county doesn’t get any more calls to the mall for violent crime than would be expected, given the number of people there.

Weiner said large-scale fights are not a major problem at the mall.

Now, she said, the mall is ramping up security.

“We are going to have officers at the mall and there will be increased patrols from Albemarle County,” Richardson said.

The mall is considering bringing in off-duty police officers to keep order, and mall security is in communication with local school resource officers, Weiner said.

When the fight occurred, the mall already had implemented a courtesy campaign targeting teens, Weiner said. The effort includes signs emphasizing respect and outlining a code of conduct. Mall security has zero tolerance for those who violate the code, she said.

The code prohibits things such as offensive or loud language and clothing that conceals the wearer’s identity.

“I think everyone in the community wants to pull together and address this thing,” Weiner said.

But she said mall officials are aware that not all youngsters are troublemakers.

“Teenagers make up a lot of the shoppers in the mall, a lot of employees in the mall, and for the most part are responsible,” she said.

Fashion Square is just one of many malls across the country to deal with rowdy youth.

According to news reports:

Saturday night, police in Danville responded to a similar situation there.

Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, N.C., last week began a curfew that requires minors to be escorted by an adult after 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Toledo, Ohio, police are upping patrols at a local mall after a large fight in a food court there last month.

On Feb. 27, a guard was shot and killed at a mall in Tennessee.

On Feb. 28, a man was shot and killed at a mall in Anchorage, Alaska.