A man with a gun in a case walked into the Eden Prairie Center on Tuesday and prompted a lockdown after police received calls about a weapons sighting.
But the man — who left the mall before the lockdown — was simply bringing his weapon to a sporting goods store for service, police said.
The mall was shut down for about 45 minutes until police got to the bottom of the situation and realized there was no danger, according to a statement from the Eden Prairie Police Department.
Police got a call at 12:08 p.m. reporting a person with a weapon inside the mall. The mall was put on lockdown and officers secured the building, which has about 120 shops and restaurants as well as a movie multiplex and a children's play area.
Police alerted the public on social media to stay away from the mall and advised shoppers in the mall to "shelter in place."
During the lockdown, a mall employee told officers that a man carrying a gun case entered the Scheels store to get his firearm serviced. He was told there are no gun services at that Scheels location and left the mall.
About 1 p.m., the lockdown was lifted and Eden Prairie Center was reopened.
