Lee County Deputies responded to a disturbance call for possible shots fired at Gulf Coast Town Center, early Friday morning.
According to the report, deputies arrived on scene around 1:00 a.m. and spoke with multiple security guards from different bars in the area.
One guard told deputies there was a fight in front of Cantina 109, once the fight was broken up the people involved in the fight left.
Another guard told deputies, he heard six gun shots coming from the parking lot area near Kiliwin's.
The security guard said he didn't see who shot the gun.
Business owners, like Chris White, weren't notified anything happened this morning.
She tells FOX 4 eighty percent of her clients at Painting with a Twist are women, which concerns her knowing someone fired multiple gunshots just feet away from her studio.
"no one from the mall has notified me which is very concerning," White said. "An email should have been sent out to us this morning because I'm sure the office was notified by the Sheriff's office."
Luisa John was at the center when she saw something out of the ordinary.
"It was dark, it was at night and I called my husband because I was going to another store," John said. "I said 'just stay on the phone with me' because I saw a little commotion."
The commotion is what has business owners like Chris White worried, since none of the shops in the mall were notified. She says this has sparked concerned about overall security of the center.
"Many of us in this mall are small business owners and we've invested everything into our business," White said. "anytime there's a security breach, a theft, a theft, or shots are fired, we should be told it's happened. What are they going to do to address the issue?"
FOX 4 reached out to the mall office to get answers. The director says she can't talk about the incident. When FOX 4 asked about security, the spokesperson says no comment could be made at the moment.
"it's a wonderful walking mall, I love it," White said. "but we have to address the issue of better security."
