Gainesville police: Reports of shooting, hostage situation at Oaks Mall 'unfounded'

Reports of an active shooter and a possible hostage situation at The Oaks Mall in Gainesville on Friday evening appear to be "unfounded," according to the Gainesville Police Department.

Social media was set ablaze Friday evening as GPD officers and Alachua County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to The Oaks Mall, 6419 W. Newberry Road, where they began to search and clear the area.

Brandon Hatzel, GPD's public information officer, said the Combined Communications Center received a call at about 6:30 p.m. about a possible hostage situation.

"GPD and ASO units responded and began actively evacuating the mall. At this time, there is no evidence of a hostage situation taking place," Hatzel said. "Any reports of an active shooter at the mall are currently unfounded. We encourage our community and residents to avoid the area until the situation has ended."

When asked again if GPD had found any evidence of a shooting or hostage situation, Hatzel replied, "At this point, we have found nothing."

At of 10:45 p.m. Friday, GPD reported that the department and the mall had resumed normal operations.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: GPD: Reports of shooting, hostage situation at Oaks mall 'unfounded'