--- description: A brawl and a false alarm, over someone apparently setting off fireworks, caused an Alabama mall to close its doors early on Thanksgiving. title: Black Friday: Brawl & False Shots Causes Early Close of Mall image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc72d133656e291d3/6988e6da22fb854753e23c99/gettyimages-671404606.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Black Friday](/tag/black-friday/) ## Black Friday Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # An Alabama Mall Closed Early on Thanksgiving Because of a Fight and False Reports of Gunfire by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 9:09 PM CUTPublished: Nov 24, 2017 4:33 PM CUT  The entrance to Riverchase Galleria Mall. The entrance to Riverchase Galleria Mall.Jeff Greenberg—UIG/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 9:09 PM CUTPublished: Nov 24, 2017 4:33 PM CUT A brawl and a false alarm, over someone apparently setting off fireworks, caused an [Alabama](http://time.com/5030706/roy-moore-women-alabama/ "undefined") mall to close its doors early on [Thanksgiving](http://time.com/5036273/ivanka-trump-thanksgiving-daca-dream-act/ "undefined"). Hoover police officers responded on Thursday to the Riverchase Galleria after witnesses reported seeing a group of around 30 teens firing shots and rumors of gunfire spreading on social media. Police quickly found that no shot had been fired and the panic was likely caused by someone setting-off fireworks, [CBS reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brawl-false-gunfire-reports-close-alabama-mall-early-ahead-of-black-friday/ "undefined"). The second incident took place around 11 p.m. when two women inside the mall began fighting. No one was injured and no arrests were made in connection with the altercation. Police officer Brian Hale told CBS that the fight was due to a personal dispute. The incidents led to the mall shutting its doors for the night — before its scheduled 12.a.m. closing time — to shoppers seeking to get an early start on Black Friday deals. It re-opened at 6 a.m. on Friday with added security. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5036456/riverchase-galleria-closes-early-after-brawl/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5036456/riverchase-galleria-closes-early-after-brawl/"},"headline":"An Alabama Mall Closed Early on Thanksgiving Because of a Fight and False Reports of Gunfire","datePublished":"2017-11-24T16:33:35.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T21:09:26.000Z","description":"The panic is believed to have been caused by fireworks","url":"https://time.com/5036456/riverchase-galleria-closes-early-after-brawl/","keywords":["Black Friday","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc72d133656e291d3/6988e6da22fb854753e23c99/gettyimages-671404606.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc72d133656e291d3/6988e6da22fb854753e23c99/gettyimages-671404606.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The entrance to Riverchase Galleria Mall.","caption":"The entrance to Riverchase Galleria Mall.","creditText":"Jeff Greenberg—UIG/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/black-friday/","name":"Black Friday"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5036456/riverchase-galleria-closes-early-after-brawl/","name":"An Alabama Mall Closed Early on Thanksgiving Because of a Fight and False Reports of Gunfire"}}]}] ```