On the day after Christmas, the Kings Plaza Mall was briefly shut down after hundreds of teens eager to escape their families participated in what has been described as a violent — or at least trouble-causing — flash mob. Though no injuries were reported and no arrests were made, the shopping center responded by banning anyone under 18 from entering without a guardian. But, because this is a mall — and therefore the teens’ rightful territory — the new policy could not last, and the ban ended on Sunday. As one 17-year-old who witnessed the incident told NBC New York, “I think it’s a good thing that they opened the mall back to teenagers because it lets them get back to shopping and doing things they really like to do,” which is cause various kinds of chaos.
