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Panic Ensues After Mass. Man Found Roaming Mall With Rifle -- Wait, Umbrella

BURLINGTON, Mass. (AP) -- State police say a man thought to be roaming inside a Massachusetts mall with a rifle was actually carrying an umbrella.

Authorities say the man called state police Tuesday after hearing reports about the Burlington Mall being evacuated because of an unconfirmed report of a man with a rifle walking around the Nordstrom's department store.

The Massachusetts State Police wrote on their Twitter account that police had received two calls about a short white man with a gray shirt and a backpack, and carrying what appeared to be a rifle.

But state police say witnesses and surveillance footage confirmed that the man was just carrying an umbrella to protect himself from the rain outside. He is an employee of the nearby Lahey Clinic, a hospital.

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