Police say small fights broke out at Gurnee Mills
Gurnee police said Saturday they are unclear on what exactly prompted teenagers to engage in several small fights outside Gurnee Mills Friday night.
More officers were to be assigned to Gurnee Mills on Saturday night to make sure there would not be a repeat performance; officers were also stationed at other likely teen hangouts in the village.
Hundreds of teens were apparently dropped off at the mall on Friday to hang out and go to movies, said Shawn Gaylor, Gurnee police crime prevention officer.
She said police surmise a lot of them didn't know the mall closes at 7 p.m. these days (6 p.m. on Sundays). As it closed, security personnel herded the kids out into the parking lot to wait to be picked up.
While out there, around five separate fights broke out among small groups of teens, Gaylor said.
Most of the kids weren't involved, and some even crossed Grand Avenue to get to the Menard's parking lot and keep their distance, she said.
Gurnee police and officers from neighboring departments got to Gurnee Mills and stopped the fights.
“We got them apart and then we had to keep them apart” until they got picked up, Gaylor said. “The kids were pretty riled up and yelling at other groups of kids.”
Messages left with the mall management office on Saturday were not immediately returned.
An eyewitness, Latrisha Cole of Zion, took a short video showing kids running around, some wearing masks, others not. Police were seen chasing a couple of kids and shouting at them to go home. She said some of the kids started “mouthing off” at police.
None of the teens were taken into custody and no one was injured, Gaylor said.
Gaylor said what started the brawls is unclear.
“I don't think fighting is the main reason they are coming here,” she said. “There are things to do around town and maybe conflicts arise when kids see other kids they don't get along with.”
Since none of the teens were arrested, it's hard to know where they all came from, Gaylor said. Police believe the majority of kids were under 18 — especially since most needed rides to go home — and most of them didn't live within walking distance.
It took several hours for parents to arrive and collect their children, Gurnee police texted earlier Saturday.
Gaylor added it is unclear why there were so many kids dropped off at the mall on Friday night. Hundreds of kids is more than are usually there at once, she said.