Various Artists News

(5/7/99, 4 p.m. PDT) - The 150 security officers employed by the 4.2 million-square-foot Mall Of America in Bloomington, Minn. had their hands full Thursday (May 6), as a well-attended instore appearance by 'N Sync was rained on by some water balloon-throwing pranksters.

By 8 a.m. Thursday, a line consisting mostly of teenage girls stretched hundreds of yards down the hallways of the mall. According to local television reports, by noon 20,000 people stood in the line waiting for the pop sensations to arrive. The vocal-harmony group was not scheduled to appear until 1:30 p.m., but the fans clutching CDs, posters, and other memorabilia waited impatiently to see their favorite multiplatinum recording sensations.

The group arrived as scheduled and started signing autographs at the event, which was sponsored by retailer Sam Goody. But about an hour into the mall appearance, things went sour.

Marcia Appel, senior VP of Musicland, says that the group had been onstage for a little more than an hour when the trouble started. "A water balloon came directly from above, and hit the table on which they were signing with a considerable force," she says. "The security agents and the band's management had warned the crowd repeatedly throughout the day that any incidents of roughhousing would result in the band leaving the stage, for their safety and for everyone's safety."

The balloon was estimated to have fallen from four or five levels up. Due to safety concerns, the group's management and security decided that 'N Sync should leave the mall shortly after the incident. There was no word of any suspect apprehended at press time.

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