A disturbance that prompted the temporary closure of the SouthBay Pavilion Mall in Carson on Saturday was caused by a gathering of approximately 200 juveniles, some of whom set off fireworks inside a store and lit a trash can on fire. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the mall after receiving reports of the incident around 5:20 p.m., as detailed by KTLA.
***SouthBay Pavilion Mall Update***
— LASD Carson Station (@CarsonLASD) July 7, 2024
COMMUNITY ADVISORY:
This evening, a group of approximately two hundred juveniles caused a large disturbance at the SouthBay Pavilion Mall in Carson. https://t.co/wTeamLQpQ7
Witness Jamila Buie recounted to KTLA that "Some kids had started a fire in the trash cans, so they had detained over 100 kids." Dispersal orders were issued to the unruly juveniles causing disruption to businesses and endangering shoppers at the mall, yet they reportedly refused to comply. So, additional law enforcement was summoned to the scene.
Around 60 to 70 of the participants were detained, and multiple juveniles were issued citations for their involvement in the disturbance, according to ABC7. Despite the chaos, the authorities reported no injuries or thefts during the incident and that the detained juveniles were later released to their parents or guardians.
The law enforcement's presence was captured in the images showing a substantial number of officers at the location, with juvenile suspects handcuffed. "Criminal activity of this nature is disruptive to our businesses and harmful to our community and will not be tolerated," as stated by ABC7.
As per NBC Los Angeles, the sheriff’s department had at least a dozen teens detained following the incident, and the scene painted by NewsChopper 4 showed an estimated 20 police cruisers, as officers have overseen about 30 teenagers.
