Westminster Mall Gang Fight Ends in Stabbing

WESTMINSTER — Shouting, fighting and finally a trail of blood surrounded by yellow police tape disrupted holiday shoppers at the Westminster Mall on Monday afternoon as a teen-age boy was stabbed during a gang confrontation.

Police arrested half a dozen juveniles. One was later booked on suspicion of attempted murder, and the others were released to their parents, said Sgt. Don Kerr of the Westminster Police Department. Their names were not released because of their ages.

The victim, whose name was also not released because he is a juvenile, was stabbed in the arm and lung and was listed in serious but stable condition at Huntington-Humana Hospital, Kerr said.

But at the mall, evidence of the violent outburst lingered, upsetting shoppers and employees.

“I just came here to relax and saw this,” said a man smoking a cigarette on a bench where the police tape was tied. “It’s sad that it would happen here. Kids with weapons--it’s ridiculous.”

Witnesses said two groups of youths converged in the mall’s first-floor atrium just before 4:30 p.m., taunting each other. Then a fistfight began among more than a dozen teen-agers.

“They were running back and forth hitting each other, slamming against the windows, the planter, the phones,” said Joe Garibay, an employee at Sun Diego, a first-floor clothing store that closed its gate during the fight to protect customers. “Guys were going toe to toe, fist to fist, and somebody pulled something out and stabbed somebody.”

The fight lasted about 10 minutes, witnesses said, before mall security and police officers arrived and the two groups fled in different directions.

The stabbed boy apparently ran up the escalator and out the second-floor exit, leaving a trail of blood spots through the mall.

“I was bringing in the trash, and I saw a group of teen-agers running out the main entrance of the mall and into the parking lot, and then I followed the trail of blood back to my store,” said Steven Parker, assistant manager of Cinnabon, the corner coffee shop at the top of the escalator.

“Lately I’ve been seeing more gangs in the mall,” Parker said. “It’s more of a shock to see it happen, but I knew it was coming. It’s a wonder nobody’s gotten killed here.”

For about an hour after the stabbing, shoppers and employees gathered wide-eyed around the police tape, which was tied to a sign announcing that Santa Claus would be visiting on the lower level. As mall personnel mopped the floor, several second-story stores had to close because customers could not cross the police line.

“It’s not good after the big weekend. It’s not good for business,” said Martina Murphey, manager of Software Etc.