Several police departments quell fighting at Boardman mall carnival; one arrested

Staff report

Boardman

A carnival at Southern Park Mall was shut down after large groups of teens began fighting.

Capt. Don Lamping said the fighting began about 10 p.m. Saturday at the Bates Brothers Carnival.

Lamping said he doesn’t know what set off the offenders or how many were involved, but the incident escalated enough to close the carnival for the rest of the evening.

He said one arrest was made but didn’t have the person’s name.

“The first couple of nights were pretty slow, and things got nasty that third night, so [officers] weren’t expecting it,” he said. “You have people with differences, and they come together and decide they want to settle those differences.”

Lamping said two Boardman police officers were stationed at the carnival before the fights.

“We’ve had it happen in the past, and we try to protect against it,” he said.

Lamping said Boardman called for assistance from surrounding agencies, and no injuries were reported.

The carnival was scheduled to continue on the mall parking lot through June 6.