Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Virginia, reopened Sunday afternoon after police had earlier evacuated the mall on reports of shots fired. The confusion was caused by a shattered light fixture. According to a Fairfax County Police, officers found no evidence of a shooting during their investigation and concluded that a fallen light fixture had caused a loud noise that people in the mall believed to be gunshots.
Officers have cleared the mall. The investigation revealed a light fixture fell causing a loud noise. No evidence of a shooting was discovered. Tysons Corner Center is open. Thank you for your patience. https://t.co/YKyVTFW1Z5
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) August 7, 2022
According to police, the loud sound occurred around 2:45 p.m. Sunday. A few minutes later officers had cleared the mall after receiving multiple calls reporting possible gunshots within the building. After investigating the scene, officers concluded that a fallen light fixture had caused the sound that alarmed mallgoers. A handful of videos appeared on Twitter showing an initial panic as people tried to flee the mall.
Another video-#UPDATE: Officers are at #Tysons Corner Center, for reported of gunshots inside the mall. So far Police have Nothing found at this point. They are asking the public to avoid the area while officers continue to clear the mall.#Virginia #TysonsMall pic.twitter.com/sujGVALtT9
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) August 7, 2022
Chaos during Tysons Corner Mall Shooting incident 08/07/2022 #activeshooter #shooting #gunshots #tysonsmall #tysonscorner pic.twitter.com/T5lbrHBNQe
— Judd Addy (@officialjaddy1) August 7, 2022
Several callers told WTOP they were inside the mall and were evacuated during an initial panic. Maurisa Potts, a spokesperson for Tysons Corner Center, said on Twitter that the light fixture had shattered around a Nordstrom wing corridor. The mall has been reopened and police are allowing people to return.