Fight at Garden State Plaza food court causes panic, evacuation

PARAMUS, New Jersey (WABC) — An investigation is underway after a physical altercation caused a large police presence at Garden State Plaza.

It started with a fistfight in the food court on Saturday afternoon — the sound of a bottle hitting the ground caused panic as people scrambled.

Once people heard the glass smash, they thought it was a gunshot. Paramus Police arrived on the scene within minutes.

Police say that there was no shooting, and they cleared the scene.

Many shoppers self-evacuated, and some stores closed. Once the panic began, the mall went into lockdown.

Police are currently looking at video of the fight, which included a chairbeing tossed.

So far no arrests have been made, but there was a lot of uneasiness in the mall.

There is no threat to the public.

Paramus Police and detectives are currently investigating. Garden State Plaza resumed operations around 5 p.m. and are still looking for people who are involved in the fight.

This comes just weeks after a shooting at the American Dream Mall caused a mass evacuation.

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