AVENTURA, Fla. – No evidence has been found of a reported shooting Saturday at Aventura Mall, police said.
There was panic Saturday night at Aventura Mall after several reports of shots fired sent shoppers sprinting for the exits.
"All of the sudden, we saw a wave of people that were running as fast as they could," said Martin Gould, who works in the mall.
Police said they got multiple calls from people saying they heard the shots.
"I heard two gunshots, and then I see all of these people running. I saw a white flash in front of my eyes, and I just started running," said Charles Fishman, who was inside of the mall.
Those who couldn't get out quickly hid inside of stores, ducking for cover.
Aventura police advised people to stay out of the area. Mall officials said Aventura Mall was evacuated as a precaution.
"Aventura Mall is being evacuated by the Aventura Police Department as a precaution," the mall said in a statement. "At this time, police have found no evidence of a shooting."
More people waited in the parking lot as officers made their way through, sweeping the entire mall, eventually saying they found no evidence of shots being fired.
"There is no indication that there were any shots fired," said Sgt. Chris Goranitis with Aventura police. "We do not have any victims of any shots fired, but the mall will remain closed for tonight. It will reopen for regular business tomorrow morning."
Despite several videos showing what appeared to be officers frisking or detaining people, Aventura police told Local 10 News that no one is in custody.
In August, a similar incident happened at Dolphin Mall. Reports of shots being fired sent mall employees and shoppers running for their lives, but again, police found no evidence that any shots were fired.
Police are working to figure out what the noise was that made so many people believe they heard gunshots. The mall is scheduled to reopen Sunday morning as scheduled.