The Orange County Sheriff’s Office believes that fireworks were behind a scare at the Florida Mall that led to false rumors of shots being fired and a panic that created a rush of traffic.
According to OCSO, on Saturday, July 23, calls were received regarding a possible incident at the Florida Mall, which is located at 8001 S Orange Blossom Trail.
The incident was investigated and dispelled as fireworks.
“No shots were fired at the Florida Mall,” reads a social media post from OCSO. The sheriff’s office says that they believe a loud sound that was heard by mall patrons was caused by fireworks.
“Please help tamp down those false rumors,” reads the post.
Dozens of reports from witnesses in the mall have confirmed a chaotic and panicked scene.
“My kids stood in shock as I tried getting them out. We ran past an older lady that had lost her grand kid in the chaos,” says Rebecca Armstrong in a social media post. Armstrong had four small children and her husband with her in the mall.
A father whose daughter was working at the mall says his daughter witnessed multiple children crying, lost, and separated from their parents, who had “no idea what was happening.”
“My daughters were hiding in a store crying and freaking out. Fireworks or gunshots, they will not return to this mall,” reads a post from Devin Clare on the sheriff’s office social media page.
The incident comes just weeks after multiple people were injured during a similar incident at Lake Eola on July 4. In comments afterwards, Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón attributed that incident to reports that people had read earlier in the day regarding a shooting in Hyde Park, Illinois, that claimed the lives of six people.