Falling metal display stanchions in a department store spurred reports of gunshots last night at the Garden State Plaza mall, authorities said Sunday.
The mall was evacuated following the incidents, but police say no shots were fired and no serious injuries were reported.
The panic began shortly after 8 p.m. last night , when a car caught fire in a parking lot.
As smoke from that fire entered the store, workers told customers to leave the area. The moving crowd knocked over a large metal display stanchion on the store’s main level, causing noises that many mistook for gunshots.
A panic ensued as people began saying they had heard shots fired, and people began storming out in the mall from the Macy’s all the way to the theater at the mall.
Read more at CBS LOCAL.
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Everyone is paranoid these days, lost packages are perceived as bombs and loud noises as gunshots. Fear is our worst enemy.