From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
HOOVER –Hoover police have released a statement that said there were no arrests following the melee that closed down Alabama’s largest shopping mall, the Riverchase Galleria, on Thanksgiving night. The statement also said “no major incidents were reported.”
The statement was released on the Hoover Police Department Facebook page said, “No arrests were made in this incident.”
According to the statement from Hoover police, “No major incidents were reported at the Galleria or any of the city’s other shopping facilities.”
The previous story in The Trussville Tribune featured a video of the outbreak of fighting. You can see the full statement and video below.
“Last night at approximately 11:20 P.M., Hoover Police responded to a fight outside of Buckle at the Riverchase Galleria. Officers arrived to find two juvenile females engaged in a physical altercation with a group of by-standers watching. The participants were separated and identified by officers. They were treated by paramedics for minor injuries. The fight was not related to post-Thanksgiving sales. No arrests were made in this incident. Approximately one hour prior to the fight call, police received reports of shots being fired outside the mall near the Macy’s parking lot. Officers responded and no evidence of gunfire was located. No major incidents were reported at the Galleria or any of the city’s other shopping facilities. As previously reported, Hoover Police will have extra officers on site at our retail areas throughout the holiday season to ensure the safety and security of the patrons and stores in our city.”
According to the earlier report, the Riverchase Galleria closed down early on Thanksgiving night after numerous fights broke out in the Hoover mall.
According to multiple media reports, over 15 Hoover police officers responded to fights breaking out between customers as well as unconfirmed reports of gunfire at about 11 p.m.
The melee prompted mall management to close the mall down about a half hour earlier than planned.
Video posted on social media showed police making arrests of suspects on the ground as other fights were taking place in the background. The number of arrests is not yet known.
The mall was scheduled to reopen at 6 a.m. Friday morning.
JUST IN: @HooverPD say they responded to several reports of fights at the Galleria Thursday night. Here’s video of one incident outside the Buckle store. More on @WBRCnews this morning. pic.twitter.com/UZEZQGykGE
— Clare Huddleston (@Fox6Clare) November 24, 2017
9 Comments
Joe Pearson
One news outlet I saw reported it as a fight between two juveniles…That incident cost businesses thousands of dollars and the idiots that were involved should have to suffer a heavy fine and jail time.
Tjo Johnson
This kind of thing has become too commonplace in Birmingham and Hoover Scott. So much so that we are no longer shocked by this type of behavior. I limit my shopping to locally owned businesses not located in malls or large shopping arenas. Still can’t beat a nice shirt for my son or husband from the Shirt Shop, or a cool new pair of jeans from Faucets. Gotta shout out our jewelry store too!
Scott Buttram
The video tells a very different story than HPD. I think it would have been handled differently in Trussville. I think you would have seen juvenile charges with a chance to make them go away if they complied with the court. You definitely would have seen parents called in under the curfew law.
Tjo Johnson
I think in cases like this the parents should be called in and held accountable as well. Maybe that would slow down some of this crap… along with some good old fashioned ass whippings from mom or dad.
Matthew Norman
This chaps my ass to no end. I’m sure they’re going to let the businesses be responsible for recouping the cost of the damages. It’s just become par for the course.
Ryan Jennings
I wonder if the Galleria itself paid off both parties to not press charges. And even contributed dollars to the store to compensate for the damages. Lord knows the galleria hasnt been in the positive light anyways the last few years.
Meg O'Neal Pritchard
We left a couple of years ago on Thanksgiving night because of the number of unsupervised teenagers loitering all over the mall. It wasn’t safe with that amount of people in an enclosed space.
Kevin Small
The Galleria / Hoover best get this under control. Loitering killed Century Plaza and now that Trussville, Leston Farms, Fultondale and Gardendale as well as Alabaster have strong retail…people don’t have to go to the galleria any more.
James D. Dunn
Guess they were glad no one got shot! The county had just had 3 murders in an 8 hour period