Grand Chute police: 28-year-old man arrested in Minnesota after Fox River Mall evacuated Tuesday

GRAND CHUTE: Grand Chute police said Wednesday, December 28th a man who prompted the evacuation of the Fox River Mall Tuesday night in Grand Chute was arrested in Minnesota.

The 28-year-old man was taken into custody without incident in a parking lot.

According to WLUK, the FBI helped investigators locate him. He was transported to the Henepin County Jail and is in the process of extradition.

Officials responded to an area in Grand Chute earlier Wednesday after they received reports of someone matching the man's description -- but he was not found at that time.

Business was back to normal at the Fox River Mall Wednesday.

There was a large police presence at the Fox River Mall in Grand Chute Tuesday evening amid reports of a person in the mall with a gun. It was later determined there was NO THREAT to the mall.

Several employees inside the mall told WLUK they were told to evacuate Tuesday evening. The evacuation was ordered shortly after 6:00 p.m.





Investigators told WLUK family members called police and said a man could be at Fox River Mall with a gun. Family members said the man was suicidal and had a gun. No threats were made -- and no threat was found at the mall.

The mall was placed under lockdown as a precaution. Some employees stayed inside -- but they were told to shelter in place.

The mall would remain closed Tuesday night.





This occurred after massive brawls and food-court fights played out at more than a dozen malls across the country in what proved to be a chaotic day after Christmas on Monday, December 26th.

Some of the mayhem was captured on social media. The chaos prevented some shoppers from grabbing clothes off clearance racks and returning gifts.

The mall incidents, which ranged from minor melees to mass evacuations, occurred from Colorado to Tennessee and Texas to New Jersey.

Police in some cities are investigating the role social media may have played in organizing the disturbances. The motive behind the mall brawls is not yet known.

Here in southeastern Wisconsin -- at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, police said there were "some isolated incidents" Monday, but the incidents were not part of any organized nationwide effort. Police said the incidents consisted of "people who did not get along."

Two arrests were made, and those two individuals could face battery or disorderly conduct charges.