8 arrested, officer injured in Hamilton Mall fight

HAMILTON TWP, N.J. (WTXF) - Eight people were arrested and an officer was injured during a brawl inside the Hamilton Mall in Atlantic County.

"It was all over Snapchat," said Allyssa Pagan.

The result of a social media invite - to attend a fight at the Hamilton Mall.

"How ridiculous is that? I mean, fighting for what?" asked Harold Anderson.

"So, there's not even like a reason to fight? They just want to?" asked Holly Franklin.

Had to be more to it than that says Franklin, working the fun animal rides in the open space on the main level, just below the Food Court, the advertised meeting place.

"I don't understand it. The fact that so many people came together to do this? Just doesn't make any sense to me," Shannon Blair said.

Police say several small altercations took place earlier in the day that were handled quickly, leading to the arrest of one juvenile female for disorderly conduct.

Later in the evening, while attempting to escort multiple groups of juveniles out of the mall for disorderly conduct, chairs and other debris were allegedly thrown in the food court area. Police say fights also broke out at that time.

"People started running down the escalator, holding their eyes. It was a little scary. I, like, didn't know what was going on," said Franklin.

She said mothers grabbed their kids and ran.

"10 or 15 minutes later there was another fight," Franklin stated.

Hamilton Township Police made several arrests. A girl, two 18-year-old males and five teen boys. Disorderly conduct and resisting arrest were among the charges. A Hamilton Township Police supervisor was assaulted and sustained minor injuries.

The men, identified as Amir Vaughn and Theron Parrish-Jordan, both of May's Landing, were charged with disorderly conduct.

"They should suffer the consequences for what they did," Blair stated.

"But, you see this happening all over here," said Timothy James Mangano.

Something similar happened just six months ago at Cherry Hill Mall.

"I guess that's where we are with social media," said Dave Harris.

"So, I mean, where does it end?" asked Anderson.

On Monday, mall management met with local police and their private security team and decided make some changes.

"We typically had 2-3 Hamilton Township police officers here on weekends. Now, we will have 4 to 6 police officers here," Crystal Rodriguez who works doing marketing and PR for the mall said.

Township detectives said additional charges are pending, as they identify more people in videos.