Loud noise causes chaos, scare at Global Citizen Festival in Central Park
NEW YORK -- Thousands of people ran for it when they heard what they thought were gunshots at the Global Citizen Festival on the Great Lawn in Central Park.
It turns out the frightening sound wasn't gunshots after all, but the fear was very real.
"I heard 'boom boom boom' like that sound like a gunshot and that's when everyone whooshed. Everyone started huddling, and going down. And everyone started freaking out. And then I heard it again like 'boom boom' and that's when everyone started freaking out," said Annabelle Smart.
Police say the cause of the mortifying fear was the sound of a police barrier that fell.
The crowd feared the worst.
"Just a mob of people started running. It felt like a war zone. It was insane, and then people were just running and there were security guards telling us to duck down," Teddy Dumont said.
No gunshots were fired.
Most of the injuries were minor.
The show continued after a brief interruption, but many people left, in no mood to return.
