Lauderhill Mall Fight Forces Lockdown in Fla.

The Lauderhill Mall fight in Florida forced authorities to lock down the facility for more than two hours on Tuesday.
Lauderhill Mall Fight Forces Lockdown in Fla.
Jack Phillips
6/26/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

The Lauderhill Mall fight in Florida forced authorities to lock down the facility for more than two hours on Tuesday.

More than 100 teenagers gathered in front of a parking lot and got into a fight for a short while, police told the Orlando Sun Sentinel.

“I don’t know what the motive was for using the mall or why they would want to fight,” Lauderhill Lt. Michael Butkus said.

After the scuffle, a 16-year-old boy was taken to a local hospital with a cut forehead as a precaution.

“There was more than 100,” shopper Danielle Jozwiak told the paper. “You couldn’t even see [the parking lot] they had the sidewalk and the whole road full of kids.”

Police told NBC Miami that likely around 200 or 300 children showed up after news of the incident spread via social media.

“What that message was, we don’t know. Essentially that’s what was used and we believe it was to fight somewhere in the mall, over what, we do not know,” Butkus told NBC.

Police said another person was taken to the hospital after getting punched in the head.

According to NBC, a young man who called himself “D” said the incident started over two girls fighting. He added that the hundreds of teens showed up to settle their disputes with others.

“Whatever pressure you had against anybody, you had to come out today,” he said.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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