‘It really was chaos’: Man with gun at Hulen Mall causes panic on Christmas Eve

Fort Worth police responded to a report of a person with a gun in Hulen Mall on Saturday afternoon, causing panic among last-minute Christmas shoppers.

Calls came in around 4:30 p.m. A video circulating on social media purporting to be from inside the mall showed people running in fear.

Police told the Star-Telegram around 5:13 p.m. that a woman reported someone was trying to shoot her in the mall, which is near Interstate 20 and Chisholm Trail Parkway. The police official said nobody is believed to have been shot and authorities had not located a gun.

In a later news release, police said they confirmed a man with a gun was chasing a woman in the mall but that there were no shooting victims. The man left the mall and headed to a nearby apartment complex, where he was found and arrested, according to the release.

A large number of police vehicles and ambulances were seen outside the Macy’s side of the mall, and police said the mall was put on lockdown as a precaution.

Kisahawna Banks, an employee at the H&M clothing store in the mall, said she didn’t know what was going on when she heard screaming and saw people running, but she knew it wasn’t good.

She, her coworkers and her managers closed the gates to the store and ushered guests with them into the back of the store for shelter.

“It’s just crazy that something like this happens on Christmas Eve,” Banks said. “One hell of of a way to quit work.”

Vani Banks, another mall employee who works at Kids Footlocker, said she saw people pushing each other and running down escalators. Some were pushed to the floor.

“It really was chaos,” she said.

The mall was scheduled to be open until 6 p.m. but closed as soon as the lockdown was lifted.

People were still showing up to the mall around 5:30, like Daniel Martinez, who went with his wife and kids for some last-minute Christmas shopping. Martinez said he had no clue the mall had been on lockdown until they arrived at the doors and were turned away.

“I don’t know how someone can cause this kind of trouble on today of all days,” he said.

This story was originally published December 24, 2022 at 5:17 PM.