State police: Reports about Easter Bunny at Westmoreland Mall determined to be false

State police over the weekend investigated a report of inappropriate behavior involving the person playing the Easter Bunny at Westmoreland Mall and determined it to be false, according to Trooper Steve Limani.

Parents of two teen girls on Saturday reported the situation to police, but the girls later said it was a misunderstanding and that they embellished the story, he said. The girls were in an elevator with the person dressed as the bunny and a family with a child who had special needs.

“The Easter Bunny was trying to entertain a handicapped child,” Limani said.

Rumors quickly spread on social media, he said.

Troopers determined the allegations were not true. No one was arrested.

The girls apologized to the person playing the bunny and both parties moved on, Limani said.

❗️False Information ❗️

Allegations of the individual working as the Easter Bunny inside the Westmoreland Mall conducting themselves inappropriately has been investigated and is ENTIRELY false!

Please help curtail any false information being disseminated.

Thank you!

— Troopers Steve Limani & Cliff Greenfield (@PSPTroopAPIO) March 20, 2022

It was the first weekend the Easter Bunny has been at the Hempfield mall for photographs with families and children. The bunny will be available 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday through April 16, according to information on the mall website.

Reservations can be made online in advance. The bunny is at Center Court in the mall’s lower level. An Easter Bunny Breakfast will be held April 2.

An outside agency handles the hiring of holiday characters, according to a spokeswoman for CBL Properties, which owns the mall.