The Long Beach Police Department coordinated with stores in The Pike Outlets to close early following a large disturbance and multiple altercations on Saturday.
There were reports that roughly 200 people gathered at the Long Beach shopping center after a post on social media about a meetup went viral.
Long Beach police confirmed the department got word of a planned fight between an adult woman and juvenile female and had officers stationed near the property.
Video obtained by stringer service OC Hawk shows two females in a fistfight. There was a large group of teens surrounding the two females as the fight continued, with many seen recording the confrontation on their phones.
Officers eventually intervened and broke up the crowd while arresting the two girls involved. A handful of police officers stayed at the scene to patrol the area. Police reportedly brought in a bus to The Pike Outlets in the event there would be a large number of juveniles to be detained.
The owners of The Pike Outlets and store owners elected to close shops early in response to the incident. The shopping center was closed at around 6 p.m. Saturday and guests were told to clear out. Officers made an announcement that anyone who didn’t comply would be arrested.
“Attention in the area, the property is now closed by management,” Long Beach police said in a statement. “Anyone who remains in the area in 10 minutes will be subject to arrest for trespassing.”
Just moments after the fight broke out between the two females, there were reports of a shooting involving a juvenile male. Officers found the boy nearby at The Promenade suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower body. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was listed in stable condition.
It is unclear if the shooting involved anyone who was a spectator in the fight between two females. Police have not released any details about potential suspects in the shooting.
Residents of Long Beach have spoken out after a wave of violence has hit the community recently. A shooting took place in a crowded area on Saturday, but no one was injured.
The no-hit shooting occurred just blocks away from where a food truck vendor was almost stabbed to death while defending an elderly woman being robbed on March 11.
Just eight days prior to the stabbing, another man – who was said to have gotten into an argument while defending a group of people – was fatally stabbed at a Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurant in the Long Beach neighborhood of Belmont Shore.
The suspect in that stabbing was arrested days later at LAX, police confirmed; the restaurant has since started closing earlier every night.
The Del Amo Mall Fashion Center in Torrance recently implemented a policy requiring anyone under 18 to be accompanied by an adult 21 or older after 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The restrictions were put in place after several brawls and smash-and-grab robberies involved juveniles.
The two females arrested in the fight at the outlets were not identified. It’s unclear what initially prompted the fight.
