Brawl among teens breaks out at Gurnee Mills
A brawl involving a group of teenagers broke out at Gurnee Mills Friday night as the mall was closing.
The group moved to a nearby McDonald's and then started heading toward Menard's before tensions died down after 8 p.m., according to a witness who took pictures and posted a Facebook video of the incident.
Zion resident Latrisha Cole said that around 7 p.m., hundreds of teens were gathered, several of them engaged in fights, while police were shouting at the youths to go home. Police dogs were also on the scene, she said.
"Some of the kids were mouthing off, so (officers) started snatching the kids up and slamming them up against cars," she said.
About 20 police cars blocked off the mall area, she said.
Cole said she drove several of the teens home in her van.
"It was mostly just a lot of kids getting out of control," said Cole, who posted on Facebook urging parents to get their children.
She said she was at the McDonald's about 6:50 p.m. when she spotted the gathering.
Gurnee police did not respond to multiple requests for comment Friday night.