This is the first I heard of this. Kind of sad, for me, because when I was stationed on a couple ships homeported in Norfolk back in the early and mid 80’s, I used to go to Military Circle all the time. But it is also the same up in Maryland. The big mall in Waldorf is a dangerous place. A couple malls - like Landover and Iverson - used to be great places to go but the urban blight suffocated those places long ago. Springfield Mall in Virginia use to be a great place to go but is now crime ridden. The main sad part is it seems that all stories involving crime in malls always involve Holders people.
The main point of the article is that the identity of the perps is often hidden, or as in the case of the Virginian Pilot, the attack is not reported at all.
Regarding the cops; the gangs of "Holder Youths" are shooting at / attacking / and otherwise abusing the cops openly. When I was a kid, you didn't sass the cops, let alone shoot at them.