Another Hoax Shooting Sent Panic Through A South Florida Mall
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SWEETWATER (CBS4 MIAMI) - In the latest of a series of mall scares, an alleged shooting at the Dolphin Mall sent people dashing to the nearest exit on Saturday night.
Some people said they were stuck in restaurants and stores for up to an hour.
"I left Trinidad to come to the United States, it was terrible," said one man.
Another woman said she saw people rushing out the door while she was stuck inside a restaurant.
"They locked the door and they were dropping the blinds and everything. I was like freaking out," she said
Police swarmed the mall and determined it was a false alarm. They found no bullets, bullet casing or victims with gunshot wounds. Instead, the discovered two men had gotten into a fight. One of the men, identified as David Smith, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery and resisting an officer.
Photos flooded social media, hyping up the shooting that police say never happened.
That was also the case back at the Dolphin Mall in August of 2017.
According to police, they received multiple calls of gunfire on another reported shooting.
The same thing happened at the Aventura Mall in December of last year, just two days before Christmas.
This isn't isolated to South Florida.
On Sunday, panic swept through the Florida Mall near Orlando. Frightened and confused, people ran for their lives when they thought they heard gunshots. Several people were hurt as shoppers and store employees rushed outside.
In the end, police said it wasn't gunfire but fireworks set off inside the mall to act as a distraction for a jewelry store theft.
By Amber Diaz