Mall Brawl Prompts Police To Increase Presence In Pentagon City Area

ARLINGTON COUNTY, VA — In response to the multiple fights that led to several arrests and forced the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City to close early on Saturday night, the Arlington County Police Department has increased its presence in the area.

“The Arlington County Police Department is committed to working in partnership with the business community to maintain and ensure public safety,” Ashley Savage, a public information officer with the department, told Patch on Tuesday. “ACPD currently has an off-duty detail on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City and has increased police presence in the area following Saturday’s incident.”

Arlington police charged three young teens after multiple fights in the mall’s food court on Saturday. The incident led to several people being injured, according to police.

Related: 3 Young Teens Charged In Pentagon City Mall Fights: Police

A 13-year-old girl was charged with rioting and assaulting police; a 15-year-old girl was charged with assaulting police, two counts of assault and battery, injury to a person in a riot and obstruction of justice; and a 14-year-old boy was charged with assaulting police, rioting with a weapon and trespassing, authorities said.

In December, Arlington police conducted a high-visibility retail theft detail in Pentagon City, which included a three-pronged approach of enforcement, deterrence and education, Savage said.

“The detail was well received by businesses and patrons and ACPD’s Community Engagement Division is in the process of developing a regular retail theft initiative to address shoplifting and other crime and quality of life concerns in Arlington’s commercial areas,” she said, adding that the police are working with mall management to identify additional crime prevention strategies.

On Sunday, Arlington County Board Member JD Spain Sr. told WUSA9 that board members would talk with County Manager Mark Schwartz, law enforcement, and businesses on finding ways to prevent violence. One solution he suggested could be partnering with non-profit organizations and finding safer outlets for teens.

"The idle mind is the devil's workshop. And so we need to focus in on engaging our youth, so they won't end up doing things like this," said Spain Sr., according to WUSA9. "When malls close, businesses suffer, and one thing we don't want to have happen here is for our businesses to feel like they're not being heard or taken care of."

Officers responded shortly after 7 p.m. on Saturday to the food court brawls in the 1100 block of South Hayes Street, according to authorities, who said the crowd remained disorderly despite the police presence and the mall was evacuated.

The 13-year-old ignored police, pushed an officer and resisted law enforcement, but was taken into custody by multiple officers, authorities said. The 15-year-old assaulted a store employee, an officer and mall security before she was taken into custody, according to police, who said the 14-year-old assaulted an officer and resisted arrest. He was eventually taken into custody and a knife was recovered, police said.

Officers, mall security, a store employee, the 13-year-old and the 15-year-old all suffered minor injuries, according to police. The mall reopened Sunday.

The three teens weren’t the only young people arrested in the Pentagon City area on Saturday. Early in the morning, officers from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency helped ACPD apprehend two juveniles for an attempted armed carjacking in nearby Crystal City, according to police.

Related: Pentagon Police Detain 2 Juveniles In Crystal City Carjacking: ACPD

Operationally, Arlington divides the county into police beats with patrol officers responding to calls for service and conducting active patrols to identify, prevent and solve criminal activity in their assigned areas, according to Savage.

“ACPD has a Community Engagement Division, which include business, community and youth outreach units, who proactively engage with community members, civic associations, businesses and community organizations to build police-community partnerships and address public safety concerns,” she said.

Patch reached out to Simon Property Group, which manages the mall, to see if it was taking additional steps to boost security. This story will be updated when a response is received.