Dozens Flee Florida Shopping Mall After Pepper Spray Released
A wave of panic took over a shopping mall in Miami, Florida, on October 16, when a customer who was attempting to steal released pepper spray, according to mall officials who were cited by local media.
This video, recorded by Josh Wright, shows people screaming while dozens flee the scene. Wright said there were loud bangs that led the crowd to believe an active shooter was present.
Wright told Storyful that he was in the Apple store when the incident occurred. “We heard five or six loud bangs,” he said, which he believed were fireworks. “Then mass panic and people running for their lives.”
Wright said he witnessed dozens of people running away from the mall “screaming and crying,” and that rumors spread that an active shooter was present in a nearby shop.
The mall was evacuated, but NBC Miami reported that the police later gave the all-clear. According to NBC, Aventura Mall officials and the police stated that a shopper who attempted to commit a theft released pepper spray in one of the stores.
Wright told Storyful that the experience was “terrifying,” calling it “the most insane 20 minutes of my life.” Credit: Josh Wright via Storyful
Video Transcript
[NO SPEECH]
