Chicago Ridge Mall open Sunday after overnight disturbance
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chicago-ridge-mall-closes-after-incident-20141227-story.html
Chicago Ridge Mall was open Sunday after a fight in the food court prompted its evacuation and early closure Saturday night.
Police said Sunday they were still investigating but that no arrests had been made. Saturday night, Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar said there were no reports of injuries and that no shots had been fired, despite initial indications to the contrary.
Around 6 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to a fight in the food court at the southwest suburban mall and while on the way, received a report of shots fired, prompting a "multi-jurisdictional response," according to a statement released by police.
The mall was "jam-packed" with people at the time and was set to close at 9 p.m., so management made the decision to close early, the mayor said Saturday.
"I certainly thank God that it didn't happen when the mall was at its peak leading up to Christmas," Tokar said.
Aziza Askar, 21, said Saturday that she was ordering food at the churro stand in the food court with her 19-year-old brother when she saw a group of people nearby starting to fight.
Two seconds later, Askar said, she heard three loud pops and felt her brother yanking her to the ground.
"It was the sound people make when they hit a tray on the table," said Askar, who lives with her family near the mall. "But then people started yelling 'They are shooting' … Everybody started panicking. Police officers started flooding in."
She said her three teenage sisters were also at the food court at the same time. The siblings, one of whom works at a store in the mall, ran out along with other people who were evacuating the mall.
"We honestly didn't know what was going on," Askar said during a phone interview. "It was pretty terrifying."
The mall is located near Ridgeland Avenue and 98th Street, at 444 Chicago Ridge Mall Drive.
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