Boca Raton (WTFF) – An assault balloon popped at the Town Center at Boca Raton mall on Sunday, causing the United States inhabitants inside to run for their lives and become injured during the resulting stampede.
It all started when a janitor discovered a stray balloon dragging behind his garbage cart in the food court, the Palm Beach Post reports.
The janitor popped the balloon.
Several people dialed 911 to report shots fired, because this is America.
Panic set in and people started running.
Boca Raton police were already at the mall and began to call in reinforcements.
SWAT teams showed up, as well as Palm Beach and Broward County sheriff’s deputies, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach police and the FBI.
Mainstream Media stations cashed in on the excitement, running sensational headlines like, “Shoppers Run For Safety During Shooting Scare At Boca Mall.” (CBS Miami)
One man, 30-year-old Julus Augustin, hit his head while escaping from the assault balloon. An officer found him in the parking lot bleeding, asking for help in mostly Krèyol.
“He saw everybody running and he ran, too,” his girlfriend later told the Palm Beach Post, translating for him.
“I lost my consciousness,” said Augustin en anglais.
Several others sustained minor injuries while evacuating, police said.
The mall was locked down for about six hours before police gave it the “all clear” signal around 9:30 that night.
“The extensive investigation did not reveal that any crime occurred. There was no evidence that a weapon had been used,” the police department said in a statement.
The mall opened up again on schedule at 10 a.m. the next day to sell more overpriced, mostly-useless commodities made under slave-like conditions overseas to hordes of people eager to thwart their anxiety and disillusionment with mindless consumption.
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Wow, it is sad that we have reached this point in our nation that a balloon being popped by someone would trigger such a hysterical response in a public space. The frequency of mass shootings occurring in the U.S. most likely had a role in this response but we must also ask ourselves why we Americans seem to be in a constant state of fear and paranoia? We were not always like this. Also, I think we need to pay attention to the actions that are taken in response to these events based on the demographics of the location. For example, this story where a balloon was popped took place in a Shopping Mall in Boca Raton, an affluent area, and they shut the mall down for 6 hours over a loud popping sound. While the Wal-Mart shooting in Oklahoma, where a gunman shot and killed 2 people in the parking lot and then shot and killed himself, the parking lot where the shooting occurred was closed but the Wal-Mart and other stores adjacent to it remained open. This area where the shooting took place is populated by middle class and working class residents. 3 people were killed in this shooting and business as usual, a balloon pops in a mall in a wealthy area and it is closed for 6 hours, this should concern us in my opinion. Furthermore, the high school shooting in Santa Clarita, California, at Saugus High School where 2 students were shot and killed but a 16 yr old fellow student who then shot and killed himself, is closed and students will not return to school until December 2nd, 2019. Where as the shooting that occurred at Santa Fe High School in Galveston, Texas on May 18th, 2018, where 10 people were killed reopened on May 29th, 2018. Both incidents are tragic but again, the action taken immediately after the shootings were substaintially different based socio-economics of the community. Furthermore, responses from students who were interviewed by various… Read more »
Well, I guess you all see that it’s past time to outlaw those dangerous things!
Imagine, giving those types of weapons to children!
It’s disgraceful.