Justin Bieber (15) was scheduled to make an appearance at Roosevelt Field Mall on Friday, but th event was cancelled by police when over 3,000 teen girl fans began to literally riot in anticipation of Bieber’s arrival.
Jayme Reissman and Driana Eunne told Eyewitness News that the crowd wasn’t listening to the police, and fights then broke out. They said at least one girl was tasered and removed by police.
Four to five injuries were reported.
One girl who was there said:
"We saw people getting pushed, moms and dads. We saw 10-year-old girls standing outside by themselves after getting separated from their parents."
Another girl said:
"One mom broke her arm."
Police made one arrest, James A. Roppo (44)of Hoboken. He is a senior vice president with Island Def Jam Records.
Nassau Police say Roppo was arrested because he was not helping them disperse the crowd. Police said they asked him numerous times to go online to tell people that the event had been cancelled and to leave. A lot of people in the crowd were using Twitter, so police wanted him to go on there and make the announcement. He refused, so he was arrested, officials said. Eventually Island Def Jam let people know the event was off through Bieber’s Twitter page.
Charges against Roppo are pending.
Bieber told a reporter police threatened to arrest him and his mother when they arrived, and they were asked to leave immediately. Bieber tweeted on Twitter his apologies for disappointing his fans.
Bieber is the latest upcoming teen pop sensation, who once sent a video to Taylor Swift who responded in kind.
Check out the video of the riot below.
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