Nov 22, 2009 2:43 am US/Eastern
Teen Pop Star's LI Mall Signing Becomes Near-Riot
Shoving Frenzy Breaks Out At As Fans Wait For Arrival Of Teen Sensation Justin Bieber
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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One minute they were lined up at a Long Island mall to see a teen singing sensation. The next, they were pushing and shoving in what police are calling a near-riot.
CBS
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The only person arrested was 44-year-old James Roppo, a vice president with Bieber's record company. He is charged with child endangerment and assault.
CBS
One minute they were lined up at a Long Island mall to see a teen singing sensation. The next, they were pushing and shoving in what police are calling a near-riot.
The cancelation of the event is blamed on "Justin Bieber fever" – and too little security. Now, a member of the singer's management team is under arrest, and parents are speaking out.
Bieber fan Annie Seiderer, 12, is left with her unsigned CD, and unsavory memories of Friday's madness.
As many as 3,000 teens waited for hours at Roosevelt Field Mall to meet the 15-year-old pop star, then the event was suddenly canceled.
"Everyone started freaking out and pushing together, and that's when it got really scary," Seiderer, of Wantagh, said.
Caryn Mutino, a Wantagh mother, was injured during the melee, suffering cuts on her head when the crowd pushed her to the ground.
"To get hurt over it, that was ridiculous," Mutino said. "I touch my face – there is blood all over my face. My girls are crying, my daughter's hysterical crying."
"She was gushing blood and we needed to call an ambulance," daughter Courtney Mutino said. "Then they took us out and went to the ambulance."
Bieber got to tell his side of the story Saturday morning on the radio.
"I was basically heading over to the mall where I was doing a signing," Bieber said. "They were not letting me in to the building; they threatened to arrest my mom and I."
The only person arrested was 44-year-old James Roppo, a vice president with Bieber's record company. He is charged with child endangerment and assault.
Police say Roppo failed to cooperate when he was asked to send a message on Twitter to help clear the crowd.
A small piece of police tape on a mall handrail is a reminder of the supposedly kid-friendly event that quickly turned chaotic.
"It blew my mind that such a big mall and such a big event wasn't planned better, for the safety not only of the people who came but the people shopping in the malls and in the stores," mall worker Catherine Sharkey said.
Bieber's young fans hope he re-schedules the autograph signing session. For some, only then will they start singing his praises again.
Bieber said he will make it up to his disappointed Long Island fans, but did not say exactly how he plans to do that.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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