MAJOR SCENE AS SHOPPERS RUN FOR THEIR LIVES… BOCA RATON POLICE RELEASE NEW DETAILS…
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher | BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2025 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Boca Raton Police now confirm to BocaNewsNow.com that one person was arrested following the Saturday afternoon incident at Boca Raton Town Center Mall that left three people injured. Shoppers — fearing there was a shooting after hearing what many called “gunshots” — ran to the exits en masse.
The people injured — two young women and an elderly woman — were injured trying to escape the mall. Police say there was no gunfire.
BocaNewsNow.com was first to report on Saturday’s incident which was reminiscent of the chaos at Town Center Mall back in September of 2024 when a social media prank led thousands of shoppers — and police — to believe that a group armed with automatic weapons was preparing mass killings in the mall. It was locked down for hours. Many shoppers, locked in closets, called loved ones to say ‘good bye,’ only to find out it was all a hoax.
Boca Raton Police Saturday night told BocaNewsNow.com that the situation this time was a fight where a gun was displayed but not fired. This is the official statement:
>> This afternoon around 2:30 p.m., Boca Raton Police responded to a report of a fight and possible shots fired in the area of the food court at Town Center at Boca Raton. Officers, who were already present at the mall, responded and made contact with one of the subjects involved, 18-year-old Santos Figueroa Alvarenga. The other subjects involved were no longer on scene.
Alvarenga advised he was in the food court with family members but was standing separate from them when he observed a fight occur between unknown males. Alvarenga said he watched the fight unfold, and then three males disengaged from the fight and began approaching him aggressively. At that time, Alvarenga became in fear for his safety so he lifted his shirt to display a firearm in his waistband. Mall personnel intervened and the three males fled the area.
Alvarenga said he did not remove the firearm from his waistband or discharge the firearm at any point. Surveillance video was reviewed and as a result of the investigation, there is no evidence that a shooting occurred. Alvarenga was placed under arrest for Possession of a Concealed Weapon Under the Age of 21. He was later transported to the Palm Beach County Jail. <<
