Charges could be brought in 500-person ‘disturbance’ at Deptford Mall

Video posted to YouTube by NJ.com

Criminal charges could be brought after hundreds of people crowded the Deptford mall and fights spilled out into the parking lot, NBC Philadelphia cites police saying Monday.

It's still not clear what drew hundreds of people to the mall Saturday leading to a disturbance near the food court.

An New Jersey Advance Media report Sunday night said the incident may have been a flash mob organized on social media, citing Tweets, but it wasn't clear from their context if that was the case — one just asked "Cherry hill or deptford mall today?" while another asked people to direct themselves to other malls in the area. Neither mentioned a flash mob or used any hashtags associated with such events.

According to an earlier story by New Jersey Advance Media, police said they arrived at the mall Saturday night and found a large crowd of juveniles creating a "disturbance" near the food court. As police ejected large groups of people from the mall, "sporadic fights erupted in the parking lot," the report cited a police statement saying. The report estimated the group at 500 people.

One juvenile was reportedly arrested but released to a guardian. It wasn't clear from the report whether that person had been charged, or might be.

A call by New Jersey 101.5 to police Monday has not yet been returned.