SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police Chief William McManus said a case of a suspected shoplifter, who pulled a gun on an employee at a Macy's at North Star Mall on Sunday night, was "blown up" and "mislabeled" as an active-shooter situation on social media.
McManus said the incident was anything but an active shooter. Instead, police said Macy's security saw two men shoplifting and detained one of the men, handcuffing him. The other man pulled a gun on security, prompting them to back off, McManus said.
The pair, one of them still in handcuffs, ran from the store and exited toward West Rector, McManus said.
A witness who asked to remain anonymous shared video of the ordeal with KSAT. The witness said he started recording when the man accused of pulling a gun started hitting three Macy's security team members.
The witness said he was standing outside of Macy's when he saw four men fighting over apparently stolen merchandise. In the video, a man in a red shirt and handcuffs is seen resisting the three plainclothes security team members.
The struggle with the security team continued until a man in a black shirt and white jeans pulled out a gun and cocked it, the witness said.
"You hear the click in the background," the witness told KSAT.
Despite claims that shots were fired, the witness said no shots were fired and that people simply panicked for no reason.
The witness said "people started stampeding" from Forever 21 after someone claimed shots had been fired.