Local News
Mom with baby describes chaos of 'stressful' Short Pump mall teen 'takeover'
SHORT PUMP, Va. — Dozens of unsupervised teenagers flooded Short Pump Town Center Saturday evening after a social media post promoted a "takeover" of the mall, forcing an early closure and drawing a large police response.
Henrico Police were alerted by mall security around 7:10 p.m. to a large gathering of juveniles near one of the stores. As security and officers — who were already on the property — approached the group, the teens scattered throughout the mall and spilled into surrounding roadways, including across all lanes of W. Broad Street.
Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett that between 75 and 100 teenagers were involved in the incident, which began inside the mall and spread to other areas of Short Pump. Reports indicated some of the young people then moved to a nearby Kroger shopping center.
"There was an original call that possibly shots had been fired here. My police sources tell me that is not the case," Burkett said. "No shots have been fired, but it was a very large fight that started here at the mall and has since spread to other areas of the Short Pump area."
Investigators believe a social media post promoting a "takeover event" drew a large number of middle and high-school-age teens to the mall. Many of the teens appear to have been dropped off at the mall without adult supervision, according to police. In fact, a flyer titled "Short Pump Mall Takeover" has been turned over to detectives as evidence, according to Crime Insider sources.
Reports of gunshots on the property circulated during the incident but were determined to be false. Police confirmed no shots were fired and no injuries were reported.
Some patrons were locked inside stores during the incident, while others were told to leave. The mall subsequently decided to close early.
Police officials said patrol and off-duty officers were already on the property working a shoplifting incident at Dick's Sporting Goods around 5:45 p.m. One teenager was arrested and charged with shoplifting and obstruction of justice in connection with that earlier incident.
Police are urging parents and guardians to stay informed about their children's whereabouts and activities, noting that large-scale "takeover events" have become a growing trend nationwide.
Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to call Henrico County Police at 804-501-5000, Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000, or submit the information through the P3Tips application on their mobile device. Information submitted through Crime Stoppers and the P3Tips application can be completed anonymously.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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