Man Who Trashed Bloomingdale's In Norwalk Still In Jail: UPDATE

NORWALK, CT — A Norwalk man was arrested on assault charges by Norwalk police on Jan. 13 following a disturbance inside the new Bloomingdale's in The SoNo Collection in which an estimated $100,000 worth of fixtures and merchandise were damaged, according to authorities. See the WABC-TV video below.

Jason Gilbertie, of Butler Street, was charged two counts of third-degree assault, first-degree criminal mischief, interfering with an officer, and breach of peace in connection with the incident which began at about 6:45 p.m. He remains in custody in lieu of bail of $50,000, an amount which was reduced by the court from $100,000.

"Callers reported a male was inside the store knocking down items and had punched another individual," said Norwalk Police Lt. Jared Zwickler in a statement. "Other callers stated the individual was destroying all of the items in the store."

In cell phone video obtained by WABC-TV and News 12 Connecticut, Gilbertie is seen pushing over display racks and tables in the store's cosmetics department.

Gilbertie is also accused of punching and throwing items at the security guard who confronted him, according to Zwickler, who added that the security guard and another person suffered minor injuries in the incident.

"Another security guard attempted to pepper spray Gilbertie. Responding officers arrived and
took Gilbertie into custody after a brief struggle."

Zwickler said that initially there were reports of shots being fired, "however no shots were fired during the incident."

Bloomingdale's and the mall did not close on Monday night following the incident, which Zwickler said appears to have been an isolated incident.

Just after Christmas, fights were reported at several malls in the state, which resulted in the temporary closure of one of them, and several people suffering minor injuries.

Gilbertie's next appearance in Norwalk Superior Court is scheduled for Feb. 4, according to the Connecticut Judicial website.

Original story: Norwalk police detained a suspect Monday evening following a reported disturbance at the Bloomingdale's department store in The SoNo Collection mall, according to authorities.

No injuries were reported in the 7 p.m. incident, but police did not disclose the nature of the disturbance.

The Norwalk Hour reported that the incident was a fight, and at one point a false rumor circulated that a gun was displayed, but no gun was found.

The mall was not closed as a result and remained open Monday night, according to police.