What (really) happened at Mesilla Valley Mall over Memorial Day Weekend?

LAS CRUCES - Facebook was awash with fear Memorial Day Weekend.

Members of a popular Facebook page posted questions and speculations about a lockdown at Mesilla Valley Mall. Many feared the worse. 

"What is going on at the mall?" one poster asked. "Someone’s just told me an active shooter, anyone know?"

A hundred people answered. Some claimed to be on the scene. Some said they heard gunshots. In reality, no shots were fired. No active shooter was present. 

The truth was less sensational. Police records show a lockdown and a brief investigation spanning the whole of the Mesilla Valley Mall. 

Police reports obtained through a public records request show that Las Cruces Police Department Officer Andrew Lazarin arrived at the mall around 6:30 p.m. on May 29. Lazarin wrote in a police report that he was responding to calls of a man with a gun. 

As Lazarin approached in a police vehicle, he said dispatchers informed him that four men standing outside the mall were arguing. One person was said to have a gun, according to the police report. 

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When Lazarin arrived, he said he saw the four men walking into the mall. Lazarin switched on his lights and sirens, got out of his car, and commanded the four men to stop moving toward the mall near Dillard's entrance on the west side.

Lazarin said they didn't comply. Instead, Lazarin said the four men continued walking into the mall. As Lazarin got out of the car, he echoed his commands. In his police report, Lazarin said one of the men made eye contact with him. Lazarin said the man continued to walk into the mall, stating he didn't do anything. 

Eventually, the men began running into the mall, triggering Lazarin to call for a lockdown. 

As Lazarin entered the mall, he found two of the four men standing by the entrance. Lazarin arrested one of the men as the other pulled out his phone and began recording. Shortly thereafter, Lazarin and other officers had both men in handcuffs.

With two of the four men in handcuffs and in squad cars, Lazarin said a store security guard approached him. The security guard took Lazarin to an entryway where a gun had been stashed, according to Lazarin. 

Another officer also discovered small bags of white powder stashed in the store, according to the police report. 

Meanwhile, outside the mall, Officer Jenniffer Roman discovered another man matching the description of one of the men allegedly involved in the fight. Roman said she drove up to the man, flashed her lights and sirens to get the man's attention. 

Roman said the man complied as Roman patted him down for weapons. The man denied having any association with the others. He said he was on his way to Buffalo Wild Wings. But Roman detained him anyway because she said he matched the description of the men in the fight. 

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Roman said a witness would later identify the man by his glasses. 

In all, three men were arrested and charged with resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. 

The Sun-News reached out to the men accused of fleeing from officers but was unable to make contact with them. The Sun-News also reached out to mall workers who were present during the incident. Many of them declined to comment and the rest did not respond to requests. 

Justin Garcia is a breaking news, crime and courts reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be contacted at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or on Twitter at @Just516garc