ROCHESTER, N.Y. :- Greece Ridge Mall closed early Thursday due to overcrowding, and fighting broke out outside, according to police.
According to Greece Police, officers responded to the mall’s security request around 6:00 p.m. and helped clear the property due to ‘large and disruptive groups of youths and young people’.
Police claimed multiple groups of teenagers began fighting outside the mall. Officers were able to disperse the groups for public safety reasons, arresting two 16-year-olds in the process.
According to a statement from The Mall at Greece Ridge, the shutdown was caused by a large number of youths running about the mall causing disruptions and refusing to leave, which was arranged by people on social media to happen at multiple malls. Greece Ridge Mall also said that RTS provided extra buses to transport the teens home.
Greece Police say they were able to clear the mall without incident thanks to a pre-planned strategy that includes a specific detail assigned to the mall to combat anticipated disorderly behavior over the festive season. The Mall at Greece Ridge says that the plan was a precaution in light of the different social media posts.
According to Greece Police, no further crimes were reported, and there was no damage to mall establishments or adjacent businesses.
After the mall scene had cleared, News 8 moved up the street to Chick-fil-A, where we spotted a trooper interacting with a crew member and individuals attempting to enter the dining area.
After the trooper left, News 8 heard a staff member warn guests that the restaurant would only be open through the drive-through. We did notice that some restaurants turned down their lights earlier than their listed closing times.
The mall’s West Ridge Road entrance was sealed off, but it has since reopened. Greece Police, Rochester Police, and New York State Police all came to the incident.
Customers leaving the mall’s adjoining Target shop reported being asked to leave by police.
“There was a bunch of people huddling around and getting ready to leave or something,” Gabriella and Cora Futzner explained.
“We were ordered to leave by the cops and noticed a lot of activity outside Target. The cops approached me and my friend and ordered us to leave; I heard others say there was a large brawl going on.”
Around this time in 2023, Greece Ridge Mall suffered a similar ‘disturbance’ with up to 200 minors arriving by ridesharing services such as Uber or Lyft before to the mall’s 6:20 p.m. closure. This prompted the mall to implement a curfew until January 1, 2024.
Full statement from Greece Ridge Mall following Thursday’s incident:
The Mall at Greece Ridge was not closed due to fights. It was closed due to the large volume of teens running throughout the mall creating disruptions and refusing to leave. The Greece Police Department and mall security anticipated this large influx of teens tonight because it was planned on social media at several malls including Buffalo. This was planned and we were prepared. Due to the large volume of teens, we elected to close the mall as a precaution. The Greece Police Department’s swift response prevented any violence from happening inside the mall. Afterward, when teens were dispersing outside in the parking lot, there were some physical altercations, but no severe violence occurred. RTS graciously sent extra busses to get the teens home. We are very grateful for the quick response from The Greece Police, NY State Police, and Rochester Police Department, all of whom responded to keep the mall safe. This is the only major incident that has happened at the mall since last year on this date. The Mall at Greece Ridge strictly enforces the curfew and used new app technology to communicate to mall employees and keep them safe.