Youth brawls draw hundreds to 2 California malls, including in Torrance
Police from multiple agencies swarmed the Del Amo Fashion Center on Sunday afternoon after a brawl among juveniles, with possible gunfire, drew a massive crowd of underage onlookers.
Around 4 p.m., Torrance police received a call reporting “a large crowd of juveniles fighting among themselves” at the Carson Street shopping mall, said Torrance Police Sgt. Ron Salary.
It’s unclear exactly how many people were fighting, but police estimate there were a thousand juveniles watching.
“It’s really not clear why they showed up at that location,” Salary said. “Because of the size of the crowd, when officers arrived, they asked for assistance from neighboring agencies.”
A witness reported that at least one gunshot was fired, Salary said, though no one was reported struck. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries, arrests or damage to the mall.
Authorities worked to clear the fight watchers from the area, but there was not a general evacuation from the mall, police said.
Police also reported a large brawl among juveniles in the Bay Area city of Emeryville on Sunday afternoon.
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Around 4:30 p.m., according to the Emeryville Police Department, about 50 young people caused a disturbance inside a store at the Bay Street Mall and had to be escorted out.
About an hour later, police said, 200 to 250 young people gathered at the mall, and several fights broke out near the courtyard. A gun was fired near Bay Street and Ohlone Way, though no one was reported hurt. Near Elm Street, a juvenile was stabbed, and was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.
The Emeryville Police Department said the crowd had mostly dispersed by mid-evening.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
