Fights, Arrests, As Crowds Jam NorCal Malls To Buy New Air Jordans
RICHMOND (CBS SF) -- A shot was fired early Friday morning at Richmond's Hilltop Mall as more than 1,000 shoppers waited outside for a chance to get their hands on newly released Air Jordan basketball shoes, a police lieutenant said.
Police have arrested a 24-year-old Richmond man who allegedly fired the shot, apparently accidentally, at 6:54 a.m. while among the large crowd of shoppers outside a mall entrance near Walmart, Lt. Lori Curran said.
Officers turned shoppers away from the mall entrances immediately after the shooting, but at least a few hundred had gathered again in front of those entrances as of 9:30 a.m., according to police.
KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:
No one was injured, and the suspect, whose name was not immediately available, remains in custody, police said.
Curran said several hundred shoppers who had been waiting for the mall to open since the early morning hours lost their chance to buy the new Air Jordans at Hilltop Mall today, where stores are temporarily canceling sales of the shoes.
A number of stores in the mall had planned to start selling the new shoes starting at 6 a.m.
The mall was set to reopen for regular business hours at 10 a.m.
According to KOVR, police also made arrests at a mall in Sacramento, and in Citrus Heights, a group of people broke into the mall and officers had to go in and pull them out.
The shoes also sparked early morning violence in Seattle, where police reportedly used pepper spray to break up fights among shoe buyers.
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