MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Mother’s Day shoppers scrambled for cover inside Paddock Mall after a fight broke out and someone waved a gun. The incident forced the mall to shut down temporarily, and Ocala police are now searching for three people they say were involved.
Officers responded just after 1 p.m. Sunday after a report of a shooting. When they arrived, police confirmed no one had been shot or injured. The cause of the altercation has not been released.
Cell phone video captured the terrifying scene: a mother and her four children rushing into an office to hide. In the footage, one of the suspects can be seen coming out of the Zales jewelry store.
“We heard the arguing and the yelling, and I looked over at what looked like a barrel of a gun in a guy’s shirt, like he was trying to get it out, but the other guy was fighting with him,” said witness Eddie Nieves.
[WATCH: Ocala police seek 3 persons of interest after gun displayed at Paddock Mall]
Nieves was helping a customer when he spotted the weapon and moved fast.
“I saw the bottom of the gun and knew instantly what it was,” Nieves said. “I turned around, called my customer over and was like, ‘Follow me, they have a gun, we have to go in the back.’”
The chaos left shoppers shaken and reaching for their phones.
“Everyone was just trying to call their loved ones, let them know what was going on and tell them they loved them — because they didn’t know how the situation was going to unfold,” Nieves said.
Nieves says the sight of firearms inside the mall is not uncommon. He says many mall employees began carrying their own guns after a man was shot at the mall in December 2023.
[WATCH: Family files lawsuit over 2023 Paddock Mall shooting, alleges lack of security]
“So many people that work at the mall tell me that after what happened in December, they carry theirs on them,” Nieves said.
Ocala police have identified three people as persons of interest and are working to determine their identities. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Camacho at 352-369-7000.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Marion County by calling 352-368-STOP (7867), dialing **TIPS, or online at crimestoppers.com. Tips that lead to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000.