PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Police said witness reports of "shots fired" Friday night at Pembroke Lakes Mall are unsubstantiated.
Pembroke Pines police said on Twitter that witnesses described a "man with a gun," prompting a search of the mall.
However, police said it was "believed to be an off-duty police officer responding against pedestrian traffic to the alleged shooting."
Pembroke Pines police initially responded to a call about shots fired inside the mall.
"We were trying to get inside, and two police officers stand in front of the doors and said, 'The store is closed,'" one person said.
According to police, this was all over a fistfight between a group of people about a stroller.
"At no point were any shots fired. There was no threat to the community," Sgt. Adam Feiner said.
With the holidays in full swing, people started calling 911. The fight caused chaos to erupt near Macy's, forcing people to evacuate, some even yelling they thought they saw someone with a gun.
"An old lady passed by and was brushed up on. She fell to the ground and said that one of the guys had a gun, and none had a gun," one person said.
Other witnesses said they heard what sounded like firecrackers before police evacuated the mall.
In the end, police confirmed no one is in custody, and the person with the gun was an off-duty officer from a different agency going toward the fight to stop it and protect the public.
One woman was taken to a hospital with a shoulder injury because of all the commotion. That was the extent of injuries from the people in the mall.
Police searched the mall, which has since been reopened.