St. Matthews Mall in Kentucky became the scene of a massive brawl involving 2,000 people, forcing it to shut down and a big police presence to be set up around the perimeter. The chaos was apparently caused by a chain reaction, involving separate fights.

Police first began responding to reports of "disturbances" at 7pm ET on Saturday. But the officers assigned to the mall could not cope with the load.

According to the police, there was "a series of brawls" between people aged 13 to early 20s, which quickly grew to include up to 2,000 people, leaving "the entire mall" affected, NBC reports.

"As they were responding to those disturbances, others were breaking out. ... Disturbances started to feed on themselves," police spokesman Dennis McDonald said. "They were just overwhelmed with the number of calls for service and reports of disorder."

The officers had to call for backup, and 50 more officers arrived from five different agencies.

What started as brawls quickly began to interfere with shop closures. By the time it was 8pm, shops had begun to close on police orders. But the brawls became so contagious they quickly turned into a melee: people were hanging onto steel grates, unwilling to let shopkeepers shut their businesses.

"This was a riot... it was crazy," McDonald added. "I've been a police officer 33 years, and I haven't ever seen anything like this before... We always plan for worst-case scenario, but this exceeded that."

Some stores ended up being used as safe havens for those that tried to escape the fighting. There were also reports of gunshots ringing from inside, but they were not confirmed.

Police maintained a presence until 1am that morning, according to McDonald. "It took about an hour and a half, close to two hours, before things were calm. We're all tired."

Businesses in the surrounding area were also recommended to shut. Surprisingly, for a brawl involving 2,000 people, there were only minor injuries. No arrests were made.

Authorities are still determining the cause of the chain reaction that started it all. The mess was all but forgotten the following morning, and the mall opened at 11am as normal.

http://www.rt.com/usa/327225-kentucky-mall-brawl-matthews/

2000 Holly mackerel

Good job no one started shooting.

That link you posted, I was smiling at some of the comments people had left about the story, reminded me of Mingle.

Wow. That's a shame. I've been to Louisville. It's a pretty city.

So, how is this particular fight any different from the ones that occur every Black Friday?

Idiocarcy(the movie) coming true...

it wasn't black Friday?

Dey gots ta get dem new Air Jerdans.....

dey be chillin...

First police call approx 7pm

(Video) 2,000 Teens Brawl at Kentucky Mall, No Arrests! http://youtu.be/bpfhnNK7iKY/
01:36

More than 1,000 teens shut down Kentucky mall: http://youtu.be/DsZoRZXyWmc/
00:29

Kentucky's Mall St. Matthews Shuts Down After Brawls Involving Up To 2,000 http://youtu.be/Gagwij2aI7w/
01:04

Huge Mall Fights Louisville Kentucky Dec. 2015: http://youtu.be/DEdbP9e1rik/
00:44

Huge Mall Fights Louisville Kentucky Dec. 2015: http://youtu.be/DEdbP9e1rik/ 00:43

2,000 strong Kentucky mall brawl leads to shutdown http://youtu.be/F3m_7xMzjz4/ 01:25

Kentucky: Riots Cause Police to Shut Down Mall St Matthews Mall In Louisville

http://youtu.be/RNtqOOrrHpA/
02:06

Breaking News: Massive Mall Riots in Kentucky: http://youtu.be/pslb-sNICW8/
04:11

i think i saw a white kid in one of those videos... he musta just got off work

Apparently some shops tried to closed early as this was going on. And employees tried to leave.
And some shoppers got angry at that. Bizzare .. They were actually angry because they wanted to continue shopping!
I could see if shops refused to go on lock down..to keep customers safe.
That would be a legitimate reason to be angry.

Some reports say there were 50 pockets of fights. Inside & outside the mall. Most reports say that this 'incident' ( hate that word!) was NOT planned. I find that very hard to believe. Besides these kids.. they say.. were middle school to high school (if that is true ), were texting each other & more kids kept showing up & it escalated to 2,000

NO arrests !? No proof of age.
NO proof if it was planned or why or by whom.

why don't those Idiots go out in the Boonies,and have it out once and for all?

Because that would require a logical thought process for organized barbarism ..& apparently they are incapable of that.

So they involved the innocent.
Because they are also incapable of predicting consequences to their actions.

Animals!

Some of the reports I've read, refer to the incident as "wilding".

" wilding " is what?
The NEW PC for don't call these kids what they really are. 'Criminals...'
& pretend it is a normal rites of passage into adulthood.

Pretty much.

Dey was Kung Fu fighting, fas as litenin.

Mass-Insanity!