Group assaulted officer, security guard outside mall, police say

A group believed to be spring breakers assaulted a police officer and a security officer outside Edgewater Mall on Sunday, police Lt. Christopher De Back said.

A crowd had gathered in the parking lot and officers responded when four or five members of the crowd assaulted them before 4 p.m., De Back said.

The suspects fled in a vehicle, he said.

“They are spring breakers,” De Back said. “We do know that.”

The crowd dispersed, and the beach across the highway was packed, De Back said in a phone call from the scene.

Details on what happened and why, and the officers’ injuries, were not immediately available, though De Back said at least one officer was likely to require medical treatment.

Dillard’s department store enacted a limited-access policy as a safety measure, he said.

SunHerald.com will update this report as details develop.

This story was originally published April 9, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Group assaulted officer, security guard outside mall, police say."