Two people suffered minor injuries in a disturbance involving large crowds of "kids" tonight at Ford City Mall on the Southwest Side.
A Chicago Lawn District police sergeant confirmed officers were called to the mall, 7601 S. Cicero Ave., where a “bunch of kids are running around.’’
Police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala said, “A large group of teens got out of hand,’’ a little while after an autograph-signing appearance by a teen band.
Zala said officers did their best to control the disturbance, "trying to get everyone out of there safely.’’
By 6:25 p.m. two people had been taken to hospitals from the "fluid" situation, according to Chicago Fire Department Chief Joe Roccasalva, a department spokesman.
A CTA bus driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, said Roccasalva, who added he did not know what happened to him.
A “kid’’ was also hurt, and that person was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, also in good condition, said Roccasalva.
By 7 p.m. the Fire Department confirmed the one adult and one pediatric patient with minor injuries were the final tally.
At 4:45 p.m. police responded to a battery in progress report at the Cicero Avenue address, police said.
About 50 police squad cars assigned to multiple South Side districts, including Chicago Lawn, Englewood and Deering, and a helicopter responded to the scene, police said.
During the disturbance the CTA had to reroute the No. 79 buses, which travel on 79th Street, as well as other buses in the immediate area.
Earlier in the afternoon, members of the teen band Mindless Behavior had appeared at the mall food court from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to promote their new release, "All Around the World," said John Sarama, the mall's senior general manager.
The band's autograph signing drew approximately 1,000 parents and children, primarily mothers and girls between the ages of 6 and 13, Sarama said.
About 45 minutes after the band left, the chaos began, Sarama said.
"A group of older youths came into the mall with the intent of causing havoc and chaos and were running through the mall, screaming, yelling and so forth," he said.
Security staff contacted the police department, and mall officials closed the mall about 5 p.m., Sarama said.
The mall did not sustain any property damage apart from a single broken planter, and it will reopen Sunday at 11 a.m. as usual, Sarama said.
In the meantime, mall officials are at a loss as they try to understand what happened.
"Ford City is a family-oriented mall," he said. "We have not had an incident like this [in the past], and I’m still in a little bit of a state of shock actually.
"What would make these youths comes here to try and cause this kind of commotion and trouble?" he continued. "I don’t know. But they did have a plan in mind."
Tribune reporter Adam Sege contributed.
rsobol@tribune.com
2 hurt in melee near Ford City Mall
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2 hurt in melee near Ford City Mall
