False alarm causes stampede at Barclays Center, injuring at least 16
NEW YORK -- There was panic at Barclays Center on Saturday night. As thousands of boxing fans were leaving the arena, people heard what sounded like gun shots, setting off a stampede.
Police said at least 16 people were left injured, CBS2's Kevin Rincon reported.
The Barclays is a busy place. It's home to the Brooklyn Nets and several other events are held there, including concerts, shows, and, on Saturday night, boxing.
As fans were coming out to the plaza, they heard loud bangs, which caused a chaotic scene.
First responders swarmed the arena after people reported hearing shots being fired. Police said at least 10 people suffered minor injuries running to safety. Most of the chaos happened out in front by the main entrance.
"That spilled over inside, and then people got scared or overreacted, and then it just carried over inside and people started running," a witness named Joshua said.
Inside, journalist Ryan Songalia had no idea what was going on. He said he watched people running back in and took a short video before he decided to take cover.
"When you see people running, the instinct is to run with them," Songalia said.
He said in light of recent mass shootings, he immediately thought the worst.
"It could happen at any place at any time it seems. Nothing is off limits," Songalia said. "It's frightening. We've become almost desensitized to these things."
Among the thousands in attendance Saturday night was Madonna, and tennis star Naomi Osaka. She took to Twitter, writing, "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," adding "I was so [expletive] petrified, man."
And that sense of fear was real for many.
"My adrenaline was pumping. I was just thinking how am I going to get out here?" Joshua said.
Police said there were no shots fired, adding what people heard was a loud disturbance.
What made things worse is where the incident happened, people were coming out. The disturbance made them turn back around, and for those stuck in the chaos, they didn't know where to go.
As of Sunday evening, it's still not clear what exactly caused the stampede.