When old men talk about teenagers they all basically say the same thing.
"All teens are sniffing glue?"
Well, though that probably isn't true, the events that happened last night at a Chicago mall could beg to differ.
About 4:45 p.m., a large group of disruptive teens ran yelling through the Ford City Mall, which is located at 7601 S. Cicero Ave., according to a mall official, reported Chicago Tribune.
As a result of the ruckus, mall officials decided to close the mall in a matter of minutes, but the teens just took the chaos outside.
Police found between 100 and 200 people damaging vehicles in the shopping center's parking lot, according to a police report, according to Associated Press.
Two people were taken to hospitals, according to Chicago Fire Department Chief Joe Roccasalva, a department spokesman, reported Chicago Tribune.
One of those needing medical help was a CTA bus driver who suffered minor injuries.
[He] was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, said Roccasalva, who said he did not know what happened to him, stated Chicago Tribune.
Traffic came to a standstill as teenagers jumped on cars, both parked and moving, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune. Many of those involved ignored orders to disperse, and police arrested 19 people between the ages of 13 and 18, according to police, reported Chicago Tribune.
One teenager was charged with battery, and another was charged with criminal trespassing, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said. The 17 remaining teens were charged with mob action. All the charges are misdemeanors, police said, according to Chicago Tribune.
This "display of emotion" could have been caused as a protest against the teen band Mindless Behavior because "the event" took place about 45 minutes after their appearance.
"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," said John Sarama, the mall's senior general manager., reported Chicago Tribune.
Sarama quickly turned on the spin and made sure to inform everyone that the mall is family oriented.
"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. he said. "What would make these youths come here to try and cause this kind of commotion and trouble?," according to Chicago Tribune.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
