JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A fight caught on camera by a News4Jax associate inside the Avenues Mall on Monday evening near a line to meet Santa had to be broken up by employees.
Because it's unclear if the people involved were minors, News4Jax has blurred the video. According to the Channel 4 employee, prior to punches being thrown, Santa stood up from his chair and started looking in the direction of the chaos after hearing young women screaming and yelling.
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The scuffle lasted about two minutes before mall employees jumped in to break it up.
"When you come and shop with your kids and see Santa Claus, this is not something you would like to see," said Juliett Depabl, a mall shopper.
The Avenues provided the following statement in response to the incident:
“We are committed to providing a safe environment for our shoppers, retailers and employees, and the behavior that was captured on video has no place at our mall. We have a number of proactive security measures in place, both seen and unseen, including maintaining a continuous security patrol of our property and parking lots. We also maintain a close working relationship with local law enforcement to maintain a safe environment at our property.”
News4Jax also called mall security but could not get through. It's unclear what started the fight.