Topline
A stampede broke out at the Barclays Center in New York City’s Brooklyn borough early Sunday morning after a “sound disturbance” led people in a crowd leaving a boxing match to believe there was a shooter in the area, leaving at least ten people injured, according to police, as the U.S. continues to grapple with the aftermath of mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.
Ambulances gather outside of Barclays Center after a WBA lightweight championship boxing bout … [+] Sunday, May 29, 2022, in New York.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Key Facts
The New York Police Department’s 78th Precinct, which serves the Park Slope section of Brooklyn where the stadium is located, said on Twitter a preliminary investigation found that no shots had been fired.
Crowds leaving the boxing match panicked after hearing a “a loud noise” that many mistook for gunfire, and 10 people who suffered minor injuries in the ensuing stampede were sent to area hospitals in stable condition, the NYPD told Forbes in a statement.
It’s unclear what the large noise was, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing, the department said.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka was in attendance, and later said on Twitter she heard yells that there was an active shooter on the scene and that she was directed “to huddle in a room and close the doors,” adding the moment left her “f*cking petrified.”
Key Background
Mass shootings and active shooter incidents have become somewhat more frequent in the United States over the last two years, according to the Gun Violence Archive and the FBI. On Tuesday, 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, after a gunman opened fire, just weeks after an active shooter in Buffalo, New York, killed 10 shoppers at a grocery store in an attack that authorities believe was racially motivated. The shootings have led to renewed debate about gun control in the U.S.
Further Reading
Tennis star Naomi Osaka ‘petrified’ after seeing panicked people flee Brooklyn’s Barclays Center (CNN)
Panic over active shooter rumors leads to stampede, injuries at Barclays Center (Washington Post)