Reports of gun at Hulen Mall stemmed from loud disturbance caused by kids, police say

The sound of store displays crashing to the ground was mistaken for gunfire Thursday night at Hulen Mall and led to fearful shoppers running toward exits, police said.

Between 50 and 60 juveniles were involved in a disturbance about 7:30 p.m. near the mall’s food court that shifted to just outside the Dillard’s, said Officer Buddy Calzada, a Fort Worth police spokesman.

“Some of the employees saw what was going on [and] started asking people to leave,” Calzada said.

Employees were trying to close the doors to Dillard’s to prevent the juveniles from entering when some of them pushed over displays near the entrance, Calzada said.

“We did have several people that didn’t see what happened, but heard a loud boom and heard a couple of crashes and started yelling, ‘Gun!’ ‘Gun!’ ‘Gunshots!’” Calzada said.

No one was injured, but panic swept through the mall.

There were already officers at the mall as part of a holiday detail, police said. About 30 other police units arrived after a caller to 911 reported yelling that referred to a gun.

The mall was locked down, and police swept its stores to be certain no one was injured. The sweep was completed by about 9 p.m.

The mall closed early.

Two juveniles were taken into custody on suspicion of theft, Calzada said, and two others were in custody on suspicion of resisting officers.

This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 9:02 PM.