Air Jordan ticket grab "complete chaos" at Willowbrook Mall

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Nearly 50 law enforcement officers were called out to Willowbrook Mall in northwest Houston overnight after people waiting to get their hands on the newest Air Jordan shoes started to get rowdy.

They were in line for the Air Jordan 11 Retro Legend Blue sneakers. The sneakers cost about $200 and will be released next Saturday. But in order to get the sneakers then, shoppers had to line up today.

Close to 600 people lined up outside the mall for their chance to get a ticket to buy the Jordans.

The mall set up a single barricade to keep people in line, but on the west side of the mall, a crowd of people tried to push through the barricade and force their way inside. Things got so intense that police were called in to control the crowd.

Some even threw rocks at glass windows in an attempt to get in early.

Shopper Katrice Stapleton said, "I came out to get some shoes the 11's for my kids and so far it has been chaos. Complete chaos. They were throwing rocks trying to break the glass and get into the store. That happened about three times and they tried to bum-rush the court to get into the mall."

The mall was going to call off the ticket giveaway, but had a change of heart. However, without a ticket, shoppers won't be able to purchase the Jordans because the sneakers are a limited edition.

No one was arrested. The tickets were given out around 8am.

We recently featured the story of Joshua Alvarez, a man who was waiting in line for days to get his ticket for the Air Jordan shoes, not at Willowbrook Mall, but at the Galleria.