The day the Canadians call Boxing Day was more like Brawling Day in the US, with fights and other disturbances shutting down malls across the country Monday. In several incidents, fights in food courts or other areas of crowded malls led to chaos as rumors spread of shots being fired. A roundup of incidents:
- In Aurora, Colo., every on-duty officer in town and officers from neighboring forces were called in to deal with multiple fights and a crowd that grew to 500 people, the Denver Post reports. Cops say the mayhem began when a crowd surrounded officers trying to arrest somebody suspected of fightingin a mall food court. At least five juveniles were arrested and the Town Center mall was shut down.
- The Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, Texas, was put on lockdown after police investigating reports of gunshots discovered that brawls had broken out involving up to 150 people, Reuters reports.