GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston is reassuring the public that Four Seasons Town Centre will be a safe and secure COVID-19 mass vaccination site, after a fight broke out inside the mall, frightening shoppers.
The fight between several people at Four Seasons Town Centre happened on the afternoon of Friday, February 26th, according to multiple witnesses and users on social media who shared video of the brawl from multiple angles.
The videos show commotion that lasts for several minutes in and around the mall's food court.
A seven-minute video shows two people throwing punches and five security guards working to break up the brawl. Shouting is heard throughout the video. More fights break out later as guards work to bring peace to the situation. Eventually, security guards and sheriff's deputies are seen escorting people out through doors.
A witness spoke with WFMY News 2 and shared video he recorded. He asked we withhold his name out of concern for his family's safety.
"We were sitting there eating and we heard a ruckus in the back of the mall in the dining area... then they started fighting," the witness said.
Next security stepped in to intervene, but fights continued to break out for about 10 minutes. The witness said shoppers nearby ran for cover under tables, inside bathrooms, and toward the exits.
"I'm going to guess around 30 people fighting, that's my guess," the witness said. "Then I heard screaming and hollering and it looked like fighting toward the middle of the mall, so we left. As we were leaving, a whole bunch of police officers came in. I would probably say 30 of them. It was crazy, I'm not going back there no more, I don't feel safe."
Guilford Metro 911 communications confirmed they received a call about a fight at Four Seasons at 2:30 p.m. on that Friday. A Greensboro Police Department spokesperson also confirmed they received a call about a "disorder" at the shopping mall on Friday, but they did not dispatch officers.
WFMY News 2 is communicating with Four Seasons Town Centre management to learn more details.
FEMA referred WFMY News 2 to contact the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for details about security, and we are waiting to hear back.
"We are working with local law enforcement and state public safety agencies to provide appropriate security at the vaccination site," NCDPS said in a statement.
Four Seasons Town Centre came into the spotlight on Friday, when The White House COVID-19 task force announced a new, federally-funded mass vaccination site would open at the mall on March 10th.
At the mall, people can get vaccinated through either a drive-through service or a walk-in option at the space that used to be Dillard's.
Skip Alston, Guilford County Board of Commissioners for District 8, has been a champion for Greensboro to receive the site, and spoke with WFMY News 2 on Sunday about security on site.
"There is not going to be a problem with security for this event. We have the National Guard on the national level, state security, and local municipalities working with us, including the Greensboro Police Department, sheriff's department - all of them are working together to make sure the citizens that come to this event will be coming to a safe and secure environment," Alston said.
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