Five teens were injured and one man was arrested on Friday after fans began pushing and shoving each other trying to get close to 15-year-old music star Justin Bieber at Roosevelt Field Mall, Nassau police said.
Bieber never showed. The event was cancelled when mall security could no longer control the crowd of approximately 3,000 gathered outside the “Justice” store on the second floor.
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“People started screaming, ‘Justin!’ And they ran forward and the ropes collapsed,” said 13-year-old Aimee Macchi. She said she was knocked to the floor in the rush. “Everyone was pushing. There was no room to breathe.”
Police say 35 officers were sent to disperse the crowd, but many wouldn’t leave, believing Bieber would still show up.
“They are not allowing me to come into the mall,” Beiber said in a message to fans via Twitter. He wrote that police had threatened to arrest him if he didn’t leave. Bieber later posted, “The event at roosevelt mall is cancelled. please go home. the police have already arrested one person from my camp. I dont want anyone hurt.”
Five minor injuries were reported and 44-year-old James Roppo, senior vice president of sales at Island Def Jam Records was arrested and charged with assault, endangering the welfare of a child, obstructing government administration, reckless endangerment and criminal nuisance.
“We asked for his help in getting the crowd to go away by sending out a Twitter message,” said Nassau County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Smith. “By not cooperating with us, we feel he put lives in danger and the public at risk.”
Bieber came to the attention of the music industry when he began posting videos of himself singing on YouTube in 2007.
With Associated Press
Tags: #justinbieber, #welovejustin, #weloveyoujustin, aimee macchi, i love justin, i love justin bieber, justin beiber, justin bieber, Long Island, Long Island Press, mall, riots, roosevelt field mall, trending topic, Twitter
EMILY SERIOUSLY U WERE PRT OF THE REASON HE |COULDNT| SHOW U GUYS WERE FREAKING OBSESSED AND JB CRAZED
REALLY? LIKE NONE OF MY WHOLE SCHOOL READS TWITTER. IT WOULDVE DONE NO GOOD. THE POLICE ARE RETARDED FOR THINKING THAT WOULD HELP.
Welcome to paradise.
Just goes to show how little these schmoes have left in their lives.
A testament to fine living here on Long Island.
Time to start over folks……
justin i still love you even if i did not get to see you you will always still be my only number1 fan!!!! i love you soooooooooooooooooooooooo mucch pss love you justin wit alll my heart your the best thing that could of happen to mee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[...] is with an almost macabre fascination with which I read the account of how more than 3,000 of you — some towing frazzled parents, I’m sure — packed into a [...]
it wasent Justins fault it was those stupid girls and it was his first signing so i love u justin <3
no efense emily 9 but i dont understand uur comment and dont think im stupid im not so dont think i ammmm
emily 9 dose jb read wat we post i hope he dose i love him answer me back !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please
i hope u read my message and im srry for saying i hate emily 9 that was rude srryyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
justin i dont hate u because of what happened …these girls r just being selfish i hate emily9 because she is just rude!!!!!!! will u go out with me please i love u so much i have a binder full of stuff about u and i am nice i love sports and i love being edjucated ur my allstar i love u i look up to u so much i am 14 going on 15 tomorrow i am so happy i wish u could meet me not to be rude to anyone else but all my friends think we r a good couple and i love to sing i was supposed to be on americas got talent but they wouldnt let me !!!! i hope u can get a hold of me so we can go out if u want i love u so much please can we my first name is kaely ur i lkove u kaellyyy
the message i just posted ‘HER’ was my best friend
i hate justin bieber. because he didnt show i probably not her friend any more! Thank you justin 4 helping me lose my friend
omg its all over the internet, i was there! justin bieber autograph signing turns into a riot all over the news and internet! he didnt show up because of the 10,000 screaming girls who pushed and shoved and got out of control that the cops came and a few ambulences! wow but it really wasnt his fault he wasnt the one who cancled, the cops wouldnt let him in the mall they threated to arrest him if he did. i just cant believe i was there….it was crazy. i couldnt believe how many girls showed up…i feel bad for him…hes so innocent he had no idea there was gonna be that many girls.
i was there and there was not 35 cops. thats how the whole thing got out of hand, it was the malls fault for not being prepared . i mean come on its justin bieber ovb alot of girls are going to show up and go crazy. i was there myself. and alot of websites are making it sound like his fault when it wasnt his fault at all the police where the ones who cancelled it not justin the crowd was oveersized thats why.. i still love you justin<3