Lakeside Shopping Center was searched and cleared Sunday afternoon following a false report of a gunman at the mall, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Deputies were dispatched to the mall at 1:30 p.m., where they conducted a thorough search and found no evidence of a gunman or crime, JPSO spokesperson Sgt. Brandon Veal said. The mall was not placed on a lockdown during the search and shoppers were not evacuated, he said.

Investigators determined within an hour that the report was a prank "intended to cause panic," Veal said.

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