Folded-up apron mistaken for handgun, mall put on lockdown

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla., Nov. 21 (UPI) —

Authorities in Florida said a reported handgun that led to a mall lockdown turned out to be a folded-up apron being carried by a waiter.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said the Port Charlotte Town Centre Mall was locked down Monday after deputies received word around 11 a.m. a man was seen carrying a handgun near the facility’s J.C. Penny’s store, WBBH-TV, Fort Myers, Fla., reported Thursday.

The mall and several nearby schools were put on lockdown while deputies searched the building.

Deputies said they were unable to locate the reported gun-toting man or spot anyone carrying a firearm on security cameras. The mall and schools were on lockdown for about an hour.

The sheriff’s office said deputies eventually located the man who was the subject of the report, and they discovered he was a waiter at a local restaurant and he had been carrying his folded-up apron around the mall.