Several people were injured last week when they were trampled by panicked shoppers frightened when fireworks were set off in Hamilton Place mall.
Robin SmithThe afternoon following Christmas, I first read the local story of Hamilton Place mall’s encounter with fireworks mistaken for gunfire. Then, I read about a Fort Worth, Texas, mall on lockdown due to a melee involving up to 150 teenagers after a report of gunfire. Mall brawls have been reported over the last week from cities in New York and New Jersey to Atlanta, Chattanooga and Memphis in the South to Tempe, Ariz., and Aurora, Colo., eventually exceeding a dozen various cities.
Were these fights connected in any way? That was my first question when online news reported first one incident, then two and the total climbed.
Social media was specifically cited in the altercation at Town Center of Aurora. More than 100 individuals gathered “to witness a fight promised” in the mall’s food court, as posted online.
Some news pieces spoke to the Christmas holiday break, with students out of school as businesses expected heavy shopping traffic on the Monday after Christmas. Yet, out of school does not give license to be out of control.
Let’s ponder a few points.