Gardens Mall shooting: Police say the incident was not an active shooter event

PALM BEACH GARDENS — A shooting at The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens on Valentine's Day had people scrambling for cover while police descended on the luxury shopping destination.

Investigators said late Wednesday that the incident was not an "active shooter event" but declined to say more. The Palm Beach Gardens Police, with the help of neighboring law-enforcement agencies, barricaded the mall's exits and entrances shortly after reports of gunfire began at 2:30 p.m.

Officers stopped and searched every person who wished to leave the property, opening trunks and aiming flashlights before ushering drivers out of the parking lot. Those who had fled from the property and later returned to collect their valuables were prohibited from doing so while officers continued their search.

The final shoppers and employees were escorted out of the retail complex by 6 p.m.

Many who stood outside of the police's perimeter traded stories of gunshots Wednesday while they waited to reunite with loved ones. Each told the story from a different angle: a teen girl ducking behind the makeup counter at Sephora; a barista who didn't wait for police to arrive before she fled from her hiding spot and into the parking lot. She crouched behind the bed of a stranger's truck.

The details of the actual shooting were just as varied. Some said it sounded like a gunman "mag-dumped." Others, in nearby stores, said they thought something large had fallen, and didn't realize it was gunfire until they heard others screaming. One said they heard that a suspect was "neutralized," and another feared the person — or people — had escaped detection in the trunk of a fleeing shopper's car.

Silence from the Palm Beach Gardens Police only inflamed the rumors.

Gardens police say the incident was not an active shooter event

It was not clear whether anyone was injured in the shooting, or whether anyone was arrested or taken in for questioning. Police did not make a spokesperson available to answer questions.

Some shoppers and employees said they fled from the retail complex upon hearing gunfire. Others were kept in safe areas of stores in the two-story complex along PGA Boulevard east of Interstate 95.

The mall's owner, The Forbes Company of Southfield, Michigan, told employees and shoppers to wait until police told them they could leave. Most of them had left the complex by 6 p.m. after a tense few hours when all entrances were blocked, helicopters hovered nearby and people waited in distant parking areas for words of friends and loved ones.

The incident took place six years to the day when 17 people died in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

More: What people are saying on social media about reports of active shooter at The Gardens Mall

Witness describes scene inside a store at The Gardens Mall

Klemie Christie, the wife of Palm Beach Post Executive Editor Rick Christie, said she went to the mall Wednesday afternoon to pick up a computer from the Apple store. Christie said she was entering the main portion of the mall from Bloomingdale's when a security officer running in her direction stopped her and directed her to go back inside.

Bloomingdale's employees then closed the store, put down its security gates and told everyone inside that they were being taken into a breakout room. Christie estimated that about 100 people were inside the store at the time, including employees.

Christie said many people in the group spent anxious moments checking social media feeds for updates before police officers armed with assault rifles arrived and escorted customers and employees from the store one by one.

"People were really frazzled," Christie said. "We were scared but everybody stayed relatively calm."

What people were saying outside of Gardens Mall

Those standing just outside of the mall parking lot were eager for word that their friends and family members were safe. All who tried crossing onto the property were quickly stopped by police.

Ian Cook waited among them. His 27-year-old wife, Kristin Cook, was working at the Nordstrom eBar when gunfire broke out. She told her husband that "it sounded like someone mag-dumped." She and other employees hid before fleeing from the mall.

"This kind of ruins our Valentine's Day," Ian said.

Luciano Puelles, 44, of Palm Beach Gardens was working in Jupiter when his wife called to say that her sister was hiding in a bathroom with 12 other people. Puelles drove to the mall but was not allowed to enter the parking lot. He stood at its perimeter and waited for more news. Calls to his sister-in-law's phone went straight to voicemail.

Brandon Jooste, 29, stood outside with his phone in hand, too. He said his wife, Rebecca, was barricaded inside.

Lauren Balfour, 19, of Palm Beach Gardens was at work at the Aerie women's clothing store when she heard "a series of" gunshots at about 2:30 p.m. She said she saw people running so she and her coworkers and their customers went to the back of the store and locked themselves there. They waited there until police came and escorted them out.

"My fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. I was scared, because now it's Feb. 14. It marks a lot of anniversaries for other shootings," referring to the Feb. 14, 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which is in Broward County, just south of Palm Beach County.

Felix Zamora of Palm Beach Gardens works at Saks Fifth Avenue and ran as soon as he heard three loud shots.

"I didn't see anything," said Zamora, 47. "I just heard three shots and ran to the parking lot with 25 other people. My ID and keys are inside the store. I can't even get into my car. I'm worried."

Palm Beach State College's Gardens campus was placed on lockdown

Palm Beach State College's campus, located directly south of the mall across PGA Boulevard, was placed on immediate lockdown at 3:30 p.m., according to college spokesperson Kerry Capell.

Capell said the college was advised to lock down by the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department but did not immediately provide further details.

As of 3:15 p.m., Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School was not on lockdown or preventing any students from leaving campus from after-school programs, according to the Palm Beach County School District. The elementary school released its students at 2:05 p.m. without incident.

The Palm Beach County School District reported that four schools — Palm Beach Gardens High School, Watson B. Duncan Middle School, Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School and Timber Trace Elementary School — were placed on limited movement because of off-campus police activity.

The schools will be using a modified dismissal procedure for students, the district said.

Other incidents of violence since The Gardens Mall opened in 1988

There have been few prior incidents of violence at the mall since it opened in 1988.

Two men fighting over drug sales led to a shooting in 2017. One man punched the other in the food court before chasing him outside to the parking lot. The victim tried fleeing in his car. The instigator shot the car 14 times, causing the victim to crash. He lived.

Ten days after that incident, two men were arrested in connection with a robbery in the parking lot at The Gardens Mall. One of the suspects allegedly attempted to strangle a victim inside his vehicle, according to an arrest report. The victim, a 19-year-old Broward County man, nearly lost consciousness before his attackers ran from the car and escaped, the report said.

In 2015, a security guard fired five warning shots as two alleged shoplifters fled the Saks Fifth Avenue store. No one was killed or seriously injured.

What people are saying on social media about the Gardens Mall incident

On social media, those at the Palm Beach Gardens mall and within its vicinity are commenting on what is going on and sharing photos and videos from the scene. Here is a selection.

Staff writers Kati Kokal, Stephany Matat, Chris Persaud and Maya washburn contributed to this story.

This is a breaking story and more details will be provided when information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida mall shooting Wednesday recap No active shooter; details few