A large “stampede” broke out at a national cheerleading competition in Dallas over the weekend after police responded to a call that falsely reported an active shooter.
On Saturday, March 1, thousands of young cheerleaders, parents and coaches were gathered at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center for the National Cheerleaders Association All-Star Championship when Dallas police announced at 1:41 p.m. local time that they were investigating an incident near the convention center.
Police instructed people to avoid the area and shared that a family reunification center had been established nearby. And as word spread about the “incident,” so did word of the potential threat, causing a wave of panic.
Minutes after the announcement, crowds of young cheerleaders flocked from the Dallas convention center, according to NBC News’ Matt Lavietes, who live-reported the aftermath of the incident. “Screams of young children could be heard in the background amid police sirens,” Lavietes wrote in an update shared at 2:15 p.m. local time.
A witness, 14-year-old Autumn Holub, echoed this while sharing her experience with Fox 4 News. “Crying, screaming, police officers everywhere,” she told the Dallas outlet. “The sirens were terrifying.”
Holub was in the bathroom alone when panic began to spread among competition-goers. “I got pushed into a corner, I fell, my knees hurting, my hands are hurting,” she recounted to Fox 4 News. “I thought I was going to pass out. I had no clue what I was doing.”
David Crawford, whose daughter was in the competition, described the moments that followed the Dallas police announcement as “mass pandemonium” with “everyone running [in] all directions.”
“It’s what we see on the news every day, but to actually live it is horrifying in that brief moment, right?” Crawford told Fox 4 News, adding, “Until you hear your child’s safe, you’re fearful.”
Less than an hour after their initial announcement, Dallas police shared an update confirming that there was no active shooter at the convention center — and later revealed how the altercation that occurred had snowballed.
A “fight between two people led to multiple poles being knocked down, which caused a loud noise,” not a gun, the Dallas Police Department said on X hours after the incident. “This noise,” police said, “contributed to panic inside the building, prompting people to rush outside in a stampede.”
The department also reiterated that “no shooting occurred,” but said that there were “multiple non-life-threatening injuries during the chaos.”
Dallas Fire-Rescue said that a total of 10 people were transported to nearby hospitals with injuries ranging “from bumps and bruises to extremity fractures,” with the worst being a broken leg, according to another local outlet, NBC 5. The Dallas outlet also reported that no arrests were made in connection with the fight that caused the chaos.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center was evacuated and the remainder of Saturday’s championship events put on pause following the incident and ensuing chaos.
“As a precaution, we suspended activities for today and will continue to work with event staff and local authorities to ensure a safe environment for our athletes to finish competing when we resume tomorrow,” the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) said in a statement shared on Facebook.
Competition did resume on Sunday, March 2, with the NCA and Varsity All Star announcing the news in a joint Instagram post that read, “Today is a new day, and it’s all about the kids.”
