Drunk man with gun triggers panic at mall

PETALING JAYA: A drunk man caused a stir at a popular shopping mall here when he brandished a gun.

The 61-year-old man hurt his head at the mall on Wednesday.

The commotion caused panic and rumours began to float on social media that a man had been shot there.

“The social media posts were fake. No shots were fired at any time at the scene,” said Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zani Che Din.

He said police were alerted to the case at about 7.10pm on Wednesday.

“We got a tip-off that a man had fallen and hurt his head in a drunken state at a restaurant there.

“Blood was oozing from his head and he took out a gun while looking for his friend when paramedics were tending to his wound,” he said yesterday.

ACP Mohd Zani said a police car and motorcycle patrol unit were dispatched to the scene.

They arrested the man and seized the semi-automatic gun, a magazine and bullets.

“The man was taken to the University Malaya Medical Centre for medical treatment and has been remanded for further investigations.

“Checks revealed that the suspect has a permit for the gun,” he said, adding police had taken a statement from the suspect’s friend.

The case is being investigated as criminal intimidation.