Reports of active shooter at Dolphin Mall appear unfounded, sources say

Dolphin Mall and the surrounding neighborhood turned into a chaotic mess Saturday night when word began to spread that there was an active shooter on the premises.

Hundreds of shoppers and their kids were either stuck inside locked-up stores or had fled outside as police from three local agencies flooded the mall and the streets around it searching for evidence of gunfire. They found none, according to police sources.

The streets around the mall were locked in gridlock as people scrambled. Dozens of cellphone videos showed people running and police sirens blaring.

In the end, it might have just been some type of loud noise that someone mistook for gunfire.

“As we were walking to the [parking garage] everyone just started running,” said Alois Mangwende, a tourist from London, who was in the Polo Ralph Lauren store when he noticed the staff was closing the doors. “No one really knew if it was a gunshot or if a bomb went off.”