Firecrackers used in robbery sends panic through Florida Mall

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - Shoppers were sent scrambling from the Florida Mall on Sunday after loud bangs were heard. Many believed it be gunshots, but they were actually just firecrackers.

Orange County deputies say that the suspects behind the incident are still on the run as of Monday morning.

Deputies say that the suspects used firecrackers to distract people while they robbed a store and then escaped into the crowd of frantic people running from the Florida Mall. Hundreds of terrified shoppers were captured on cell phone video running from the mall around 5:45 p.m. on Sunday.

Once deputies got to the scene, they say that they discovered no shooter but that there had been a robbery at Mayor's Jewelers. 

11 people were injured. Five of those were injured so badly that they needed to be taken to the hospital.

Fox 35 spoke to a mother and son that were there during the incident. They say that they ducked for cover and were so terrified that they don't even remember which store they ran into.

"We ran into a store and hid in like a storage room and put things against the door so that no one could get in," said mother Maxine Retsky.

There is surveillance video from inside the mall and this morning, Fox 35 is reaching out to the Orange County Sheriff's Office to see if they have images to release of the suspect that they can show to the public.