SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) - Panicked shoppers ran out of Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise after, police said, a fire alarm malfunctioned at the food court.
Sunrise Police and Fire Rescue units were dispatched to the shopping center just after 5 p.m., Friday.
The call coincided with somebody saying that they might have heard gunshots inside the mall. However, officials confirmed that no shots were fired.
Still, shoppers at the mall were full of questions and confusion.
“They got panicked and everybody starts running,” shopper Camilo Silva said.
7Skyforce HD was above the scene where dozens of shoppers and employees could be seen huddled outside of the Burlington store.
“Everyone was running inside, everywhere,” said shopper Junior Ramirez.
Ramirez’s mother suffered injuries after she was trampled in the chaos.
“She fell when we were trying to get out,” Ramirez said. She started bleeding, almost couldn’t stop it.”
“She was bleeding, and now she has a lot of pain on her knee and the whole body,” said Silva.
Officials said it appears nobody pulled the fire alarm and that it somehow malfunctioned.
The mall has had its fair share of panic and false alarms in the past.
Back in August, some shoppers feared there was an active shooter inside the mall. Those reports were unfounded.
“I was terrified,” a shopper told 7News at the time.
In late 2017, a shoplifter set off fireworks sending other shoppers running in panic.
“They got the AR-15 out, bruh, it’s not a joke,” a fearful shopper is heard saying in cellphone video.
SWAT team members swarmed Dolphin Mall in August of 2017. It turned out to be yet another active shooter scare. No scene was ever found.
“I feel sorry, because this is the type of situation that we don’t want to be happening in our country,” said Silva. “It’s getting like a normal thing, but it’s really scary.”
Police continue to investigate.
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