BOCA RATON, FL — Florida police believe the sound of a balloon popping in the food court may have sent thousands of shoppers into a “panic” over the weekend and caused a SWAT team to converge with guns drawn on the upscale Town Center mall in the affluent community of Boca Raton.

One person was hospitalized late Sunday afternoon as panic erupted at the Town Center amid fears of an active shooter. Police urged thousands of shoppers to seek shelter in the mall’s 220 shops and restaurants, and many shoppers were forced to hunker down for hours.

The balloon was spotted when police reviewed video showing a janitor pushing a garbage cart through the food court around 3 p.m., moments before patrons appeared to be spooked by a loud noise.

“The garbage cart rolled over and dragged a balloon,” Boca Raton police confirmed Tuesday. “The janitor said that he popped the balloon and detectives later found a popped balloon on the floor. There appears to be a delay of a couple of minutes between when the janitor popped the balloon and when patrons are seen fleeing the area.”

Police said the video showed people visibly reacting to the loud sound. Some witnesses also said they heard a balloon pop rather than a gunshot.

“As we received multiple calls of shots fired, Boca Raton Police officers continued searching the mall for any threats and victims,” police said. “Numerous agencies from around the region responded to assist with the search and the evacuation of patrons.”

Boca Raton Police Officer Kenneth Fong discovered a man in the parking lot outside of Bloomingdale’s with a “traumatic head injury.” Police initially feared the man had been wounded by gunfire.

“The male was a Creole speaker and he was drifting in and out of consciousness, so he was unable to initially provide any information about what occurred or how he was injured,” police said. “Officer Fong treated the victim, put him into his patrol vehicle and moved him to a safe location to meet fire rescue.”

It was only later that police learned the man had not been shot. He hit his head on the push bar of a door as he was making his way out of the mall in the chaos.

Boca Raton Police Chief Daniel Alexander told reporters he did not believe the man’s injuries were life threatening.

The chief said he was not aware of any other significant injuries as a result of the incident, which occurred as thousands of shoppers were in the mall on a rainy Sunday over the three-day Columbus Day weekend.

Police asked shoppers to shelter in place until officers could safely evacuate them. The injured man was taken to nearby Delray Medical Center.

One woman asked police via Twitter how long she would have to stay inside a store after spending three hours there.

Marwa Ahmed was at Macy’s when the incident happened, according to a NextDoor post.

“Yes, I was there at Macy’s and we all just ran out. Very scary,” said Ahmed, of Boca. “I had my three kids with me. We are all pretty shaken up.”

The mall is located at 6000 Glades Road. Retailers in the mall also include Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Police allowed evacuated shoppers to return to the mall to retrieve their personal belongings from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.

“The extensive investigation did not reveal that any crime occurred. There was no evidence that a weapon had been used,” Boca police said. Extra officers have been assigned to the mall as businesses have resumed normal operations.

The mall is about 15 miles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a gunman killed 17 students and faculty members on Valentine’s Day 2018.