Lost child leads to brief lockdown at Avenues Mall

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Just after 5 p.m. on Friday, everything at The Avenues Mall on Jacksonville's Southside turned frantic. 

Mallory Blas was inside a department store with her kids, shopping for school items, when she noticed other shoppers begin to panic. 

"There were people running inside the store, and the workers were running over and slamming the doors closed. Then they came over the speaker and said there was an emergency." 

Within seconds, reports of an active shooter inside the mall hit social media, and video of workers telling customers to leave surfaced.   

Blas took their advice. 

"We headed down the escalator and we bolted outside. There were officers at every entrance. It was very scary." 

Dozens of armed officers arrived and began searching for a gunman, but soon learned those reports were untrue. 

A mall spokesperson tells Action News that a father became separated from his child and screamed, "I lost my son."  Some heard that phrase to be, "I've got a gun." 

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office reports that the boy was found minutes later, hiding, and the lockdown was quickly lifted. 

Blas said she was happy to see how police responded. 

"It wasn't real, but if it was, I think they were the right thing to protect the customers."