ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orange County Sheriff’s Office was forced to sweep the Florida Mall for a second time in the last week because of a bomb threat.
Customers reported on social media that they were being evacuated from the Orlando mall on Monday just before noon.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said that while there was nothing to indicate the threat was credible, they evacuated the mall out of an abundance of caution, and they would investigate the threat until proven otherwise.
Deputies also had to evacuate the mall on Friday because of a bomb threat.
Rinaldo Verrico said the response Monday appeared more serious than the previous incident.
“Today, I noticed more rifles involved, so it makes you wonder if it’s something more serious,” Verrico said. “I’ve been here for more than two hours.”
Verrico was working inside the Florida Mall on Monday morning when it was evacuated due to a second potential bomb threat in four days.
He said threats like these can’t be ignored.
“All it takes is one phone call or one incident,” Verrico said. “Given everything going on around the country, you have to take it seriously.”
Claribel Cotto, who works at the mall and was also present during Friday’s incident, said she would like to see increased security inside the building.
“Maybe having more guards, especially armed guards patrolling inside, instead of just outside or in the back,” Cotto said. “I think that would really help keep us safe.”
It’s not the only mall in Florida that has dealt with bomb threats in the last few days.
South Florida media outlets reported that the Dadeland Mall and the Dolphin Mall in the Miami area both received bomb threats and were evacuated over the weekend.
Law enforcement agents have not said whether they are investigating any connection between the bomb threats.