Roosevelt Mall Shooting Scare a False Alarm

John Mitty Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Today, on Christmas Eve, shoppers at the Roosevelt Field Mall doing some last minute gift purchasing had a bit of a scare when a shoplifter fleeing the authorities knocked over a display case.  The sounds of the crashing display were mistaken by many of the shoppers as gunfire.  The incident occurred at around 1:15 p.m. inside Macy’s at the perfume counter.  The shoplifter got into a fight with the security guard, and knocked one of the perfume display cases over. 

Customers ducked and fled, and later reported gunfire to the Nassau Police.  Kenneth Lack, chief spokesman for the Nassau Police Department stated, “The report of shots fired was unfounded.”  Only minor injuries were reported among several shoppers who got in the way of the fleeing thief.  Authorities managed to apprehend him however, and on reviewing security tapes, it has been confirmed that no gunman was present on the scene.  Reports of gunfire were so widespread that Macy’s employees herded customers into bathrooms and stock rooms, keeping them there for twenty minutes.  After that, a loudspeaker announcement was made, reporting that the coast was clear.  During the incident, the mall went into lockdown for 20 minutes, with cops blocking roads and helicopters circling overhead.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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