Police: Two arrested after security officer battered at Springfield mall
A security officer was battered and two juveniles were arrested in a melee at White Oaks Mall on Wabash Avenue early Saturday evening.
It was the second incident at the mall within a week. Two teenage girls were involved in a fight and arrested Tuesday.
A press release from Springfield Police said there were initial reports of gunshots fired inside the mall Saturday. Those reports couldn't be confirmed after SPD officers spoke with witnesses who had remained on scene, the release stated.
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SPD officers responding to the incident around 6:45 p.m. found the security officer on the floor outside of the food court area on the mall's second level.
Medical personnel who were summoned to the scene provided the security officer with treatment before the officer was transported to Springfield Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. SPD didn't detail what those injuries were.
Two juveniles were later located and arrested.
Several employees exiting the mall, but not authorized to speak on the record, said stores closed early Saturday because of the incident.
The normal closing time for Saturday is 8 p.m.
Other businesses on the outer rim of the mall, like Malibu Jack's and Cooper's Hawk, continued to operate. Malibu Jack's had an off-duty SPD officer working there at the time.
A mall manager did not immediately return a phone call from The State Journal-Register Saturday.
This story will be updated.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Two juveniles arrested after battering a Springfield mall officer
