Crime & Safety
Update: Shiekh Sold Out of Air Jordans
Police were called to NewPark Mall early Friday morning where a large crowd gathered around the much-hyped Air Jordan shoes.
Updated 12:35 p.m.
A shoe store at NewPark Mall was advised to close up shop for the day after the latest re-release of Air Jordans it was selling caused a gathering of hundreds of potential buyers, according to officials.
Shiekh was advised to close early after it was learned that the store only had a limited number of the shoes, according to Newark Police Sgt. Ray Hoppe.
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A manager with Shiekh was not available, but an employee said that the shoe store was still open as of 12:40 p.m. That employee confirmed that store was "completely sold out" of the Air Jordan 11 Retro shoes it had available earlier today.
According to a report on KTVU, hundreds of people were waiting before sunrise for wristbands being given out by the store, which was selling the sneakers.
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Kicksonfire.com describe the shoe as featuring "black nylon mesh and patent leather, as well as a white midsole and translucent red outsole."
The Air Jordan 11 Retro was originally released in 1996, according to Nike Insider, and is listed at $185. Re-sells of the shoe are being advertised on Craigslist for as high as $350.
TV footage showed a line of police officers holding the crowd back, and it appears that they were able to calm down the group.
Hoppe said police were patrolling the mall throughout the night but that the heavy police presence, which was put in place for as precautionary measures for crowd control, began around 4 a.m. Newark police cleared the area around 10:30 a.m., Hoppe added.
Newark Police Sgt. Manuel DeSerpa said no arrests were made and no injuries were reported.
"NPD’s involvement at the mall was only to keep the peace," DeSerpa added.
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