Aventura Mall shut down Monday in anticipation of protest. But so far, all is quiet.

Aventura Mall shut down at 2 p.m. Monday in anticipation of a possible protest in the area on the heels of a weekend of demonstrations against police brutality across South Florida and the United States.

Sgt. Hans Maestre, a spokesman for the Aventura Police Department, said the mall would stay closed Monday after police received information about the potential protest. The mall typically closes at 7 p.m.

“We went ahead and made notifications and prepared ourselves logistically to address any issues that could occur like they have been occurring over the last two to three days,” Maestre said. “We do not expect the same incidents but are taking every precaution.”

Posts on social media suggested people may have been planning to gather near the mall around 3 p.m. It wasn’t immediately clear whether any particular organizations were behind the plan or what actions were planned, if any.

At around 3:45 p.m., Maestre said police had yet to see any protesters in the area.

“We don’t forecast anything occurring at this time,” he said.

Maestre would not say what information police received about the protest.

“Some people put out information,” he said. “Sometimes it echoes negatively. Just to be cautious, we’re preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.”

A spokesman for the mall, Matt Levinson, confirmed to the Miami Herald just after 2 p.m. that the mall had closed “effective immediately.”

“This is a precautionary measure,” Levinson said. “The mall and surrounding area remain secure.”

The mall closure follows a weekend of nationwide protests against police brutality, particularly the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. Protests in downtown Miami on Saturday led to the closure of Bayside Marketplace due to looting at its shops. Bayside reopened Monday morning.

Aventura Mall, which had reopened May 21 after a lengthy closure due to the novel coronavirus, was also the site of an unrelated shooting Friday that injured two people.

The upscale mall in northeast Miami-Dade County is the largest mall in South Florida.

This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 3:43 PM.