Suspect arrested in connection with mall incident
The suspect in Saturday’s aggravated mall riot incident that forced the evacuation and closing of Hamilton Place mall turned himself in Tuesday.
David Ballard, 18, is charged with aggravated riot, felony reckless endangerment, alteration of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Chattanooga police identified Ballard, a validated gang member, as the suspect on Monday and released a poster asking for the public’s assistance in locating him. Gang members are considered “validated” when they meet certain criteria set by police.
Several reports of shots fired and a gun found in the parking lot of Sears sparked panic and an evacuation of the mall shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday. Law enforcement arrived in force, and after further investigation, police found no physical evidence that shots had been fired, spokesman Rob Simmons said Saturday.
Surveillance video showed Saturday’s incident began with a fight inside the mall that escalated when Ballard took out a firearm, Chattanooga police Chief David Roddy said during a news conference Monday.
Even after the riot, Ballard continued to publicly post to social media despite police looking for him.
“Hey, I’m finna go turn myself in, though, man,” he said in a Facebook live video streamed just hours before police confirmed he was in custody. He repeated the phrase several times in different variations.
He appeared to be in the back seat of a car and a woman could be heard in the background talking on the phone.
“We on our way there,” she said. It wasn’t clear if they were on the way to the jail or somewhere else.
“Hey, yo, the news keeps bustin’ up to my house like a n—— ••• got done and killed somebody,” he said. “They trippin’ … You stupid.”
Ballard’s friends commented on the video as he was streaming. He told them how his mother was stressed out, and that he would be out soon.
“A n—— be back out, you hear me?” he said. “… be right back out in these streets by 9 o’clock.”