On Saturday, reports of an active shooter caused customers of Jersey City's Newport Centre Mall to flee. Police received nine calls about bullets fired and social media lit up with warnings to stay away from the area. When police arrived though, they quickly determined that there was no active shooter but rather a malfunctioning popcorn machine. From NJ.com:
"The mall was not evacuated, but rather people panicked and fled on their own," Wallace-Scalcione said. "In less than 5 minutes, police officers responded, investigated, and determined almost immediately that the calls for shots fired were unfounded.
"As is standard procedure, JCPD officers adhere to their training and protocols when responding to every possible scenario."[…]
Newport Centre Mall has seen shootings and other incidents in recent years. In July, a girl set off fireworks inside the mall, which was initially reported to police as a shooting. In January 2019, two men were shot during a fight that broke out at the food court, sending shoppers fleeing.
