Car Fire, Toppled Store Displays Stir 'Cascade of Panic' at Garden State Plaza

A car fire followed by toppled store displays sparked a "cascade of panic" and false reports of gunfire Saturday night at the Garden State Plaza.

The loud bangs some customers believed were gun shots and initial law enforcement reports indicated were popping tires from a burning car in the mall's parking lot were actually the sounds of fallen metal display stanchions in Macy's.

According to Paramus police, the sequence of events began when a car caught on fire outside of Macy's and smoke seeped into the northeast doors of the store at about 8:10 p.m. Saturday.

Store personnel advised customers to move out of that section of the store. As shoppers were evacuating the area, a large metal display stanchion on the store's main level toppled to the floor, according to police.

"This large noise, which might have sounded similar to a gunshot, caused a cascade of panic and more people began to quickly evacuate the area," a police statement said.

As customers stormed out of the store, another large display located on the lower level of Macy's was also knocked over causing additional loud noises, police said.

With the mall and movie theater full of people, police received "numerous" calls of shots being fired.

Multiple agencies, including the Paramus, Bergen County and New Jersey State Police departments, responded to the scene, cleared the entire mall and confirmed no shots had been fired.

The last of the locked down stores was searched and cleared by midnight. Several customers suffered minor injuries during the dash to evacuate, police said.

This was the second time in less than a year panic has rushed through the Garden State Plaza. A 20-year-old Teaneck man opened fire last November inside the mall before committing suicide.