BYE BYE BYE? “Active Shooter” Mall Panic Injures 9 At Joey Fatone Restaurant Opening

By Bob Owens

For the second time in less than two weeks, noises in a mall triggered a mass panic that left people crushing one another in stampedes away from non-existent threats, even though this time shoppers were warned in advance of a test that was about to occur.

Nine Florida Mall shoppers were injured in a frantic flee from the building after an alarm and popping sounds caused panic at the fear of an active shooter, officials said Thursday.

About 3:20 p.m., mall patrons began reporting on social media that an alleged shooting had occurred in the food court after hearing sharp popping sounds and a fire alarm. The unsettling sounds sent fearful patrons running from the mall.

Orange County Fire Medical and Orange County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene, but there was no gunman, OCSO spokeswoman Deputy Rose Silva said.

Instead, the scare was caused by an industry-standard test as part of the inspection for the grand opening of former ‘NSync singer Joey Fatone’s new restaurant, Silva said. An announcement was made over the mall’s public announcement system prior to the test preparing customers for the noise.

“The test consisted of six large balloons popping consecutively, followed by a fire alarm,” Silva …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms