At Least 10 Injured After Active Shooter Rumour Caused Stampede At Barclays Center
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: @ryansongalia/Twitter
At least 10 people have been injured after rumours of an active shooter sparked a stampede at the Barclay's Center in New York.
Thousands of people gathered at the arena in Brooklyn to watch boxers Geranto Davis and Rolando Romero compete in the World Lightweight Championship when the incident took place last night (28 May).
Following the match, rumours began to spread throughout the crowd that there was an active shooter in the area, prompting attendees to run for their lives just days after two mass shootings rocked the United States.
Scary moment as crowds pour back into Barclays Center, my fear was a shooting but those fears proved unfounded. pic.twitter.com/pcBdfwWplt
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) May 29, 2022
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department told The Washington Post that a 'loud disturbance' prompted attendees to break into a stampede just after midnight local time on Sunday, but assured the reports were false.
"Once we looked into it, we found it was a bunch of nothing," the spokesperson said.
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Detective Adam Navarro revealed ten people suffered minor injuries as a result of the crowd surge and have since been transported to hospitals for treatment.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka was in attendance at the boxing match when those in the arena started to panic and described herself as 'so f**king petrified' in a post shared on Twitter.
After getting out of the arena, she wrote: "I was just in the Barclays Center and suddenly I heard shouting and saw people running, then we were being yelled at that there was an active shooter and we had to huddle in a room and close the doors... I really hope everyone made it out safely, since I’m tweeting this we made it out OK."
Stefan Bondy, a sports reporter for the New York Daily News who was also at the boxing match on Saturday, tweeted: "I was inside Barclays Center and end of fight, as everybody was clearing out, there were reports of gunshots.
"I didn’t hear them but security guard said report on radio was it occurred on concourse. Crazy stampede of people followed. Scary scene."
I was inside Barclays Center and end of fight, as everybody was clearing out, there were reports of gunshots. I didn’t hear them but security guard said report on radio was it occurred on concourse. Crazy stampede of people followed. Scary scene.
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) May 29, 2022
Speaking to the New York Post, Ryan Songalia, a boxing reporter for the Ring, said fans are 'used to brawls at boxing events', but that fears were heightened due to 'recent headlines and the panic of the crowd'.
Earlier this month, 10 people were killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York just days before 19 school children and two adults lost their lives in a shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
"Thankfully we were able to return to our seats to file our stories and exit safely," Songalia continued, though he said people were 'definitely frightened' and had been 'running for their lives'.
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