Culver City police received multiple calls reporting a man with a gun in various parts of the mall around 5:20 p.m.
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They said they also received reports of a fight in the food court, but it was unclear at the time if the incidents were related.
Authorities headed to the mall, located in the 6000 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, and placed it on lockdown. Police searched the mall twice, but no suspect was found.
"A bunch of people came running through from the JC Penney side and indicated that there was a shooting going on. Nordstrom locked us in for about 30 minutes until it was safe. I came out and literally police officers and guns were everywhere," witness Shawn Davis said.
There were no victims, authorities said, and no gunshots were heard.
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People hid in several businesses while police continued to comb through the mall for the possible gunman.
By 7 p.m., authorities said the reports of a gunman were unfounded.
Police said as the mall was being cleared, many teenagers who were inside began running outside and fighting in a parking lot. Authorities said that resulted in damaged vehicles.
As authorities broke up the fights, someone in the crowd used some sort of spray. Several people were treated by EMTs, and the crowd eventually cleared.
Many of the teens involved said they turned out to the scene because of social media.
"It was on Instagram that it was an event, an Instagram event. Everybody just came and people who saw their enemies fought each other," Allyson Floyd said.