Accidental firearm discharge at Florida Mall in Orlando prompts evacuation

An accidental firearm discharge at the Florida Mall in Orlando prompted people to evacuate and a significant police response, according to officials and witnesses.

Initial reports suggested a shooting was taking place at the Orlando mall on Sunday afternoon. However, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed that the incident was the result of an accidental firearm discharge, which injured the person handling the weapon.

Footage shared on social media showed people evacuating the Florida Mall as police and emergency medical services responded to the scene.

“My boyfriend and I were just at Florida Mall inside Charlotte Russe about to check out, when I heard a woman hollering loudly and saw people running for their lives through the mall and people behind me started pushing me and other people saying ‘GO, GO, GO!'” a witness told WOFL.

“I was there with my son, about to eat at Pico de Gallo, and the shotguns sounded like inside the restaurant, I was ordering food in an external table,” another witness told WOFL. “It was chaos. People running and screaming.”