A minute-long cell phone video shows the wild scene as up to 10 young people fight inside the Cherry Hill Mall while about two dozen people watch -- some with cameras in hand.
The caught-on-camera brawl happened at about 8 p.m. Saturday. It quickly landed on YouTube and became part of the investigation into the fight.
"The video shows clearly that there were a lot of young people hitting each other," said Cherry Hill Police Det. Sgt. Joe Vitarelli.
The video shows some apparent teenage boys punching, kicking and tackling each other in front of the Gap store. As the fight goes on it appears that one boy is targeted as the brawl spreads across the mall and into the crowd at one point.
By the time the fight ended, most of the crowd was gone but a 17-year-old and 16-year-old were left hurt. The older boy was taken to the hospital with bruises while the younger boy refused treatment, police said.
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The root of the rumble might have been some bad blood between two of the teens.
“There was some trouble in the past, I believe, with one young man and another man,” Vitarelli said. “We don't really know how they all got to be at the mall.”
The Cherry Hill Mall released this statement about the fight:
The incident at Cherry Hill Mall Saturday night is isolated and rare. The mall has a zero tolerance policy for any disruption or crime aimed at our shoppers and employees. We maintain a strong security presence at the mall and work closely with the Cherry Hill Police Department throughout the year.
We strive to create a safe, enjoyable experience for our shoppers and employees and that will not change as a result of this incident. We refer you to the Cherry Hill Police Department for further comment.
As of Monday no one was charged in the case.
“We don’t know if this person is gonna proceed with complaints against (or) even if he knows the assailant,” Vitarelli said. “This matter is under investigation by Cherry Hill Police detectives and we'll try to get to bottom of it… it takes cooperation of the victims too.”
Anyone who witnessed the brawl or might know anyone involved is asked to contact Cherry Hill Police.
