One juvenile was taken into custody by law enforcement after violence broke out at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, New Jersey.
According to law enforcement officials, several teenagers got into multiple physical altercations at the food court at the Willowbrook Mall on Sunday. The violence involved a number of juveniles and adults who allegedly began to throw punches and chairs.
One person involved in a fight allegedly threw a chair that made an extremely loud sound. Other people in the food court area at that time mistook the loud noises for gunshots, which caused mass panic.
Meanwhile, social media reports about an active shooter at the Wayne NJ mall began to circulate. This resulted in even more chaos, with the Wayne Police Department being inundated with 911 emergency calls.
When Wayne NJ cops arrived at the mall, they saw at least 20 people fleeing the main entrance to the building. One person running out of the mall approached officers as they pulled up in patrol cars and said that there were guys shooting each other inside the mall.
Wayne NJ detectives investigated the situation and determined that no one inside the mall was firing gunshots. In fact, police did not find anyone armed with a handgun.
The investigation did result in police detaining several people, including at least two juveniles. According to authorities, one of the juveniles was an aggressor in the initial fight in the Willowbrook Mall food court. That juvenile was taken into police custody, with law enforcement later indicating that this was done for health and welfare purposes.
Wayne detectives are still investigating the incident, which means that criminal charges could still be forthcoming. Depending on the circumstances, it s possible that the minor who was detained by police could face charges for disorderly conduct, simple assault, or other juvenile offenses.
Additionally, mall security guards issued notices of trespass to at least three other people, including one juvenile.
For more information, check out the NJ.com article, “Thrown Chairs Mistaken for Gunfire Sparked Chaos at Willowbrook, Cops Say.”
