As we previously reported, a shopping mall in Virginia Beach, Virginia has been having some issues with disruptive behavior. In one particular instance, a man was allegedly ‘wrongfully detained’ by police, which may have made matters worse.
A group of Black Lives Matter rioters/protesters showed up after reports of the wrongful detainment but were swiftly removed by Virginia Beach Police, largely without incident.
We noted in our previous story that it is likely the city of Virginia Beach has enacted policies that prevent riots from getting out of control, and situations that happened earlier this year in Portsmouth, Richmond, and other parts of Virginia may have led the organizers to mistakenly think they could ‘act a fool’ in Virginia Beach.
Now, the Virginia Beach mall is taking steps to reduce chaos even further, despite fury from the Black Lives Matter crowd. It is now being reported that they will enact a chaperone policy to keep crowd/customer disruptions to a minimum in the mall for those who simply want to peacefully shop and interact.
Lynnhaven Mall’s new rule begins on January 1, 2021. Although the new policy is something they had discussed for a while, recent events sped up the implementation.
The new plan called the PGR or Parental Guidance Required program will require guests under the age of 18 to be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult of at least 21 years of age on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 4 p.m. The new rule will be strictly enforced throughout the mall, including at the entrances.
Wavy TV 10 reported:
A Virginia Beach police spokesperson said there were reports of a “group of teenagers that kept getting into fights” at the mall Saturday evening. There were no injuries reported, no shooting occurred and no known weapon violations “as rumored,” the spokesperson said.
It’s clear that in Virginia Beach, and specifically this mall in particular, citizens do not want rioting and chaos ruling their lives. It’s sad that someone was wrongfully detained, but society can’t punish the rest of the people in a city for something bad happening to one person by one other person’s mistake.
Wavy TV 10 also reported that MacArthur Mall in nearby Norfolk, a high end downtown mall has already enacted a similar policy. It’s sad that places made for businesses to thrive and people to enjoy going out have to enact policies like this to make enjoyment safe for those that don’t want to cause trouble, but it’s encouraging to see these businesses stand up for their well meaning customers nonetheless.
Read more in part below on our report about how Virginia Beach Police cracked down on potential rioters, disbursing them from the mall in just minutes:
A group of Virginia Beach rioters sought to obtain vigilante justice after a man was allegedly ‘wrongfully detained’ at Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Black Lives Matter members decided the mall itself was partially to blame for what happened to the man and that they would protest and cause chaos there. You can see a quick summary of what happened in the news clip below.
Evan Watson, the WVEC 13 News reporter also detailed the situation on his Twitter in a series of tweets as well.
“After a black man was wrongly handcuffed and detained at Lynnhaven Mall on Saturday while eating with his family, VBPD is holding a press conference at 3:30 today. Activists and others are protesting tonight at the mall.”
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