Rumors of gunfire cause panic after New York boxing match

People escape from the tribunes after a false shooting alert inside Barclays Center in New York, U.S., May 28, 2022 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Ryan Songalia/via REUTERS

May 29 (Reuters) – As the nation reels from two major mass shootings this month, a stampede broke out early Sunday in New York as rumors spread of gunfire just after a boxing match ended, injuring almost a dozen people, police said.

As boxing fans filed out of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn after Saturday night’s match where Gervonta Davis retained his lightweight title against Rolando Romero, word of gunshots spread among the crowd, police said.

Twitter posts and social media videos showed scores of fans rushing back into the stadium to take cover, some knocking others down as they climbed over seats or ducked down on the floor.

Police told Reuters that there was a “sound disturbance” but “no shooting” and “no gun.”

“People heard loud noises and thought it was gunfire,” a New York City police spokesman said. “It was nothing more than that. There were 10 minor injuries.”

While police did not link gun jitters to recent events, on Tuesday 19 children and two teachers were shot to death at a southwest Texas elementary school.

The Uvalde, Texas, slaying occurred just 10 days after a white gunman killed 10 people including an armed security guard at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in a racially motivated attack in a mostly Black neighborhood.

A representative for the Barclays Center was not immediately available for comment. Its official website just featured clips from the match, including a lefthanded knock-out punch to Romero from Davis.

Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Mark Porter

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