Hundreds of people ran for their lives in panic in New York’s Times Square when a motorcycle backfired, causing some to think a gunshot had sounded.
Several loud bangs sounded in the Big Apple on Tuesday night causing a large number of people to flee in the opposite direction and towards West 47th Street and Seventh Avenue, according to the Daily Mail.
“It sounded like gunshots, it definitely did. Two or three thousand people, maybe, just dissipated into thin air,” a witness told CBS New York.
Another witness noted that people were in such a panic that some lost their shoes in their headlong rush to flee.
The New York Police Department reported that a few visitors to the area were injured during the mass of people scrambling to get away from the sounds. None of the injuries were serious, officials added.
The NYPD quickly tweeted out a notice that there was no shooter.
“We are receiving multiple 911 calls. Please don’t panic. The Times Square area is very safe! @NYPDnews @NYPDTimesSquare”:
Broadway actor Gideon Glick even noted that his show was stopped temporarily over the fears.
“Stopped our show tonight due to a motorcycle backfire that was mistaken for a bomb or a shooting,” the actor tweeted. “Screaming civilians tried to storm our theater for safety. The audience started screaming and the cast fled the stage. This is the world we live in. This cannot be our world”:
Others who claimed to be on the scene also talked about their experiences.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.