Mayfair Mall's senior general manager Stephen Smith has issued a statement about the events that led to the mall closing early on Sunday.
Some have criticized the mall for letting Twitter and the Internet control the story about what happened when a large group of kids reportedly caused a ruckus at Boston Store, leading to a lock-down of the Wauwatosa mall.
Here is Smith's statement:
"What occurred on Sunday, Jan. 2, appears to be the result of a group of irresponsible youth intent on disrupting the shopping experience at Mayfair.
"Since the introduction of the PGR program -- parental escort required -- at Mayfair in 2007, this type of behavior is uncommon at the property. It will not be condoned by mall management or the local authorities.
"We are proactively working with the police department and investigating various communication outlets so that the police can apprehend individuals involved and hold them accountable.
"The safety and security of our guests are always our top priorities. We will not tolerate any behavior that compromises that safety.
"As a result of this incident, we anticipate that there will be operational changes as well as consequences for those involved.
"We are thankful for the support of the Mayfair public safety team and the Wauwatosa Police Department. We are even more thankful there were no injuries as a result of the youths' careless actions."
Mayfair Mall is owned and operated by General Growth Properties, which owns and manages nearly 200 malls in 43 states.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
