A fight broke out at Dolphin Mall’s outdoor food court in Sweetwater on Sunday evening, and social media video appears to show a man involved pulling a gun from his waistband before other men scattered from the scene. One person is now in custody, and officers have confirmed that no shooting actually took place.
According to WSVN 7News, police responded to the disturbance after the altercation broke out among a group of men, and officers were seen carrying long guns in the area as they flooded the scene with a heavy presence. Social media video circulating from the incident shows what appears to be a physical fight between multiple men in the food court area. Sweetwater police said one person is in custody in connection with the incident, per the station’s report.
Separately, CBS Miami reported that Sweetwater police and Miami-Dade Fire crews were called to the mall after reports of a possible shooting, and that officers confirmed no shooting occurred. The exact sequence of the fight, the alleged gun display and the arrest has not been independently verified across the available accounts, and it remains unclear from the released information whether a firearm was actually displayed or whether anyone pointed or discharged one.
A Mall With a History of Gun Scares
Sunday’s scare is far from the first time Dolphin Mall has been thrown into chaos by reports of gunfire or weapons. In April 2024, Miami-Dade and Sweetwater police responded after calls reporting possible shots fired at the mall, but officials later deemed those reports unfounded, according to NBC 6 South Florida. That false alarm still caused panic among shoppers and triggered a large law-enforcement response, the station reported.
In July 2019, a man pulled out a gun inside the Dave & Busters arcade at the mall, the Miami Herald reported. He did not fire the weapon and was later arrested on a charge of carrying a firearm inside an establishment that serves alcohol. Then-Sweetwater Mayor Orlando Lopez said at the time that the man was defending his girlfriend after a squabble, the Herald noted.
Fights, False Alarms and Stress Injuries
An April 2018 incident at Dolphin Mall also involved a fight that sparked panic and unfounded reports of gunfire, though WSVN 7News reported that no firearms were ever discharged. That episode left three people with stress-related injuries, with two treated at the scene and one taken to a hospital, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said at the time. Police in that case arrested a man named David Smith and charged him with aggravated battery and resisting arrest, per the outlet’s report.
In another incident, a false fire alarm sent shoppers evacuating the mall in a panic, according to NBC 6 South Florida. In a separate incident, Sweetwater police arrested Pedro Pagan after he allegedly displayed a firearm, and no injuries were reported. In a separate episode covered by WSVN 7News, police said reports of shots fired turned out to be a false alarm, even as officers ended up investigating an unrelated stolen-car situation at the mall.
What Could Come Next
Florida law includes a statute specifically addressing the improper exhibition of a firearm or other dangerous weapon in the presence of others, according to the Florida Senate’s published statutes. Whether that statute or any other charge applies to Sunday’s arrest has not been confirmed, and no booking information, formal charges or identity for the person now in custody has been released.
For now, the pattern at Dolphin Mall continues: a fight, a reported gun, a swarm of officers, and a community left waiting for details. As in several previous incidents at the sprawling Sweetwater retail complex, confirmation that no shots were fired did little to undo the fear that rippled through the food court before police sorted out what had actually happened.
