What people said on social media Wednesday after shots fired at The Gardens Mall

Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·3 min read

PALM BEACH GARDENS — One posted she heard a series of booms. Another shared a photo of a cookie cake she had just picked up. Another worried for the daughter he had just dropped off for shopping. Still others circulated videos of heavily armed police on the prowl.

News spread far — and very quickly — via social media platforms of gunfire at The Gardens Mall on Wednesday afternoon. And, just before 4 p.m., Palm Beach Gardens police said they were investigating a possible shooting at the popular, upscale mall.

That followed untold numbers of postings on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other channels as the situation unfolded, including reports that mall employees and patrons were told there was an active shooter. Some mall patrons and store staff said they were initially told to shelter in place, and some customers and employees described being ushered into safe locations on the premises.

The mall and its stores on Wednesday afternoon were touting a number of Valentine's Day features and deals when the alleged shooting took place, bringing an abrupt and scary suspension of the holiday fun. And it did so on a day day when South Florida remembered the sixth anniversary of a horrific school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 students and staff members dead.

Below is a selection of social media posts by people at the Palm Beach Gardens mall and within its vicinity who were commenting on what was going on and sharing photos and videos from the scene.

Supposedly an Active shooter at the Gardens Mall- Stay clear:

Posted by Pamela Looney Henthorn on Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Social media posts about active shooter at The Gardens Mall