A man has said he was in fear for his life after more than 40 yobs terrorised Christmas shoppers at the Arndale centre last week.
Sicarius McGrath, 40, was in JD Sports at the Arndale in the afternoon of Friday December 17 doing some last minute Christmas shopping.
Just before 5pm, Sicarius saw people running past the shop, with screaming also heard.
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“My heart sank,” he said.
“Initially I thought it could be a terrorist attack with the way people were acting, or at least that someone was going around with a weapon, it was terrifying.
“I have been shot at before but I have never felt more fear than at this moment.
“I looked out and saw a gang of kids running around, many with their faces completely covered.
“I thought there could be at least 70 of them.
“There were loads of people in JD with kids and they were terrified. The workers were in shock too.
“My partner had a bit of a panic attack so went back to the car with the kids but I stayed.
“I went to Foot Locker and two kids walked in with their faces covered just looking to provoke people. It was really scary.
“One of them was walking awkwardly and it definitely looked like he had a knife or something in his trousers.”
Sicarius said he confronted the Arndale and other shop security staff as to why they were not acting.
“I said to them ‘why did you let such a big group in?’ and why weren’t they doing anything about them but they responded it’s just kids there’s nothing we can do.
“It was not dealt with properly at all. They then said it was just a police issue.
“The security surely have a duty of care to the people in the centre, people were absolutely terrified.
“They don’t seem at all prepared to deal with anything. I’d be very worried if there was a more serious incident happening of them dealing with it. It was terrible.”
GMP say a dispersal order was put in place for 24-hours after officers were called out, with a knife also recovered.
A GMP spokesman said: “We were called at around 4.55pm on Friday 17 December to a report of anti-social behaviour involving around 40 young people in the Arndale Centre, Manchester.
“Officers attended and a dispersal order - that ran up to 5pm on Saturday - was authorised, enabling police to arrest anyone that refused to leave the area once asked to.
“A knife was recovered from the scene and enquiries are ongoing with no arrests being made.
Sicarius, who lives in Liverpool, says he visits the Arndale often, at least twice a week, to shop and to eat.
However, he has vowed to never return with children after this incident.
“I genuinely thought my life was at risk when I first saw people running and heard screaming,” he said.
“I was with my kid and my partner was with hers and they were absolutely terrified.
“It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I really thought there was something much worse happening at first.
“I definitely won’t be going back with kids again. We usually go all the time but it didn’t feel like a safe place at all on Friday.
“I have no doubt some of them had weapons on them. They were just trying to provoke and intimidate people in the centre.
“I’ve been in situations like this before but this really was a terrifying experience.”
Sicarius volunteers for organisations advocating offender rehabilitation and the reduction of gang violence.
David Allinson, centre director at Manchester Arndale, said: "On Friday, December 17, an incident of anti-social behaviour took place within the centre. Throughout this incident, our security team was supported by Greater Manchester Police, who quickly dispersed those involved.
"The safety of our customers is always our number one priority and we have close partnerships with the police to help ensure Manchester Arndale is a safe place for everyone."
Anyone with information can contact police online, if able, or via 101 quoting incident 2407 of 17/12/2021.
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