Little Rock police removed dozens of teenagers from Park Plaza on Monday night because they were "causing fear," a spokesman said.
Lt. Steve McClanahan, the spokesman, said police earlier Monday received information that something could happen at the mall between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., so officers were there when the youths began to cause trouble.
During the course of the evening, police kicked out 75 to 100 children between the ages of 12 and 17, McClanahan said. There were no arrests.
"They were going on different levels, acting like they were going to start fights," he said, adding that any fights that did occur were minor.
The Monday unrest was not limited to Little Rock. With multitudes of shoppers returning holiday gifts or looking for discounts, malls around the country dealt with fights that sent shoppers running and led to multiple arrests.
Law enforcement officials were investigating what caused the widespread fights, the majority of which involved youths, and some questioned whether they were somehow connected.
"At this time, we don't know," Sgt. Chris Amsler, spokesman for the Police Department in Aurora, Colo., said. "At this time, we don't think it's related. We just think it's a coincidence."
Amsler said a small fight began at the food court of the Town Center Aurora, outside Denver, about 4:45 p.m. Monday and multiplied into dozens of skirmishes throughout the mall. All told, police believe about 500 people were involved. Five youths were arrested on charges such as disorderly conduct, obstruction and resisting arrest.
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When police tried to break up the fight in the food court, a crowd began surrounding the officers, prompting officials to call every on-duty officer in the city for backup, according to the Police Department.
In Manchester, Conn., seven people, including Raekwon Gaines, 20, and Solomon Wilson-Frame, 19, were arrested after a disturbance at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills that involved up to 10 teenagers, the NBC affiliate there reported. The others arrested were ages 14 to 16.
A similar disturbance happened about 6:30 p.m. at a mall in Beachwood, Ohio, about 20 miles outside Cleveland. At least one youth in custody is suspected of assaulting a police officer, cleveland.com reported.
A Twitter video shows a stampede inside the Beachwood mall as shoppers race toward the exits. The post says there was a shooting inside, but police determined reports of gunfire were unfounded.
False reports of gunshots also caused panic at malls in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Elizabeth, N.J.
NBC affiliate WRCB TV reported that teenagers set off fireworks to distract from a shoplifting incident at Hamilton Place in Chattanooga.
Elizabeth, N.J., Mayor Chris Bollwage said on Twitter that someone screamed "gun" after a chair was slammed, causing people to panic at The Mills at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth. Police in tactical gear showed up. Eight to 10 people, including an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old, had minor injuries.
Similar disturbances were reported at malls in Fayetteville, N.C.; Indianapolis; Tempe, Ariz.; Aurora, Ill.; East Garden City, N.Y.; Memphis and Fort Worth.
It's unclear how or why the fights started, but some law enforcement officials pointed to social media.
McClanahan said he thought it was "very likely" the disturbance at Park Plaza in Little Rock was somehow related to the other mall fights that happened Monday.
McClanahan said two vehicles were vandalized during the commotion. According to a report, police responded to a call just before 9 p.m. about the breaking of the rear window of a Toyota Corolla. It was unclear what kind of object was used to break it, McClanahan said.
On its Twitter account Monday night, Little Rock police said the unoccupied car had been hit by a gunshot, but McClanahan said Tuesday that the window could have been broken by a shot from a BB gun or pellet gun, or by another object.
A little before 8 p.m. Monday, the Police Department also dispelled social-media rumors about a gunman at the mall, saying no shots were fired.
McClanahan said he didn't know how those rumors started.
"It wasn't factual," he said. "It was false."
Information for this article was contributed by Kristine Guerra of The Washington Post.
Metro on 12/28/2016