A fight among shoppers led to chaos and false reports of a shooting at the start of a busy holiday weekend Friday evening at a Pembroke Pines mall.
Pembroke Lakes Mall on Pines Boulevard was shut down and shoppers were told to stay away as police investigated reports of shots fired and a man with a gun.
The shooting reports were unsubstantiated, Pembroke Pines police said.
Police said a man got into a fight with another man and woman over a stroller, which resulted in the woman getting struck and the man getting punched.
The fight ensued chaos, with a large number of shoppers rushing to get run out of the mall and caused the crowd to claim shots were fired, police said.
This prompted an off-duty officer to try to intervene, but witnesses saw his firearm and reported that there was a "man with a firearm," police said.
The mall was reopened after police determined there was no shooting and no credible threat to the public.
