Posted on December 27, 2013

Hundreds of Teens Trash Mall in Wild Flash Mob

Kevin Sheehan et al., New York Post, December 27, 2013

Hundreds of teenagers stormed and trashed a Brooklyn mall in a wild flash mob that forced the shopping center to close its doors during day-after-Christmas sales, sources said on Friday.

More than 400 crazed teens grabbed and smashed jars of candy, stole cheap items such as baby balloons and beat up security guards at Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Mill Basin between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., merchants said.

A violent game of “Knockout” also broke out on the upper level of the mall — and one teen may have been carrying a gun, sources said.

The teens used social media to plan the mass looting, vowing to put the mall “on tilt”–or to raid it, according to posts on Facebook and Twitter.

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Clerks at shops such as Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret and Mac quickly rolled down metal gates as security guards tried desperately to break up the mob. The mall was closed for roughly an hour around 7 p.m., sources said.

Violent fights also broke out in front of McDonald’s and Best Buy, sources said. Video footage shows a pack of teenage girls punching each other and screaming as security guards struggled to break up the brawl.

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Some teens took to Twitter to brag about the trashing the mall.

“Kings Plaza was on tilt today,” Ray Rat Sextana wrote on Facebook.

Another teen, Mark Wallace, added, “Sh-t was crazy at Kings Plaza. So the security started shutting down the mall and kicking all teens out but it was so much of us they couldn’t get control.”

Police sources said it’s unclear what prompted the mall madness but some of the teens incorrectly believed the rapper Fabolous would be performing at the mall, according to social media posts.

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Other teens bragged on social media about beating up security guards and breaking bus windows on the ride home.

“Teens rioting at Kings Plaza. They just shut the mall DOWN . . . . Rrowdy teens fighting and running through out the mall. It was crazy!!!” one mall-goer posted.

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