Fight at Garden State Plaza food court causes panic, evacuation

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Sunday, May 1, 2022
Fight leads to chaos at Garden State Plaza
Anthony Johnson has the latest developments from Paramus.

PARAMUS, New Jersey (WABC) -- An investigation is underway after a physical altercation caused a large police presence at Garden State Plaza.

It started with a fistfight in the food court on Saturday afternoon -- the sound of a bottle hitting the ground caused panic as people scrambled.

Once people heard the glass smash, they thought it was a gunshot. Paramus Police arrived on the scene within minutes.

Police say that there was no shooting, and they cleared the scene.

Many shoppers self-evacuated, and some stores closed. Once the panic began, the mall went into lockdown.

Police are currently looking at video of the fight, which included a chairbeing tossed.

So far no arrests have been made, but there was a lot of uneasiness in the mall.

There is no threat to the public.

Paramus Police and detectives are currently investigating. Garden State Plaza resumed operations around 5 p.m. and are still looking for people who are involved in the fight.

This comes just weeks after a shooting at the American Dream Mall caused a mass evacuation.

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