Chaos breaks out at Barclays Center in Brooklyn after noise sparks fear of active shooter

NYPD has confirmed that no gun or shooter was present at the arena, and source of noises that provoked stampede has not been identified

Davis vs Romero fight in NYC (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A crowd of spectators at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center found themselves in a stampede when noises that sounded like gunshots sent people into a panic.

The incident occurred after the Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero boxing match, and was caught on video by several people in the arena. Crowds of people could be seen climbing over stairs and pushing each other as they tried to run from what they thought might be an active shooter.

Spectators who were involved in the panic described hearing what they thought were gunshots – this just days after a lone gunman massacred 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and two weeks after a racist gun attack on a grocery store in Buffalo, New York claimed 10 lives.

It is still unclear what caused the noises that started the rush at the Barclays Center. While there were initially confusion over whether or not a gun had been sighted in or near the venue, the NYPD has since confirmed that “no gun whatsoever” was found at the scene.

According to the Washington Post, detective Adam Navarro said that reports of an active shooter had been investigated and turned out to be “a bunch of nothing”. The force’s 78th precinct confirmed in a tweet that “After investigating the incident at the Barclays Center this morning, we determined that no shots were fired.”

Aside from the recent mass shootings in other parts of the country, Brooklyn itself has experienced several gun violence incidents in recent weeks and months. In mid-April, a lone gunman let off smoke bombs and began firing into a crowd of commuters at a subway station – and just last week, a man was arrested on suspicion of shooting dead a stranger on a Q train from Brooklyn to Manhattan.