The State Fair of Texas closed early on October 14 after a false shooting scare. Fair-goers left in a panic and many were running for cover.
WFAA reported that Dallas Police Department officers responded at around 9 p.m. after a large group ran out of the Fair Park gate attempting to “create chaos.” They succeeded. Videos on social media were filled with screaming crowds running toward the exit in fear of an active shooter after the rambunctious group first began running. The individuals who are to blame for the mass panic have not been identified and no arrests were made.
“A bunch of kids yelled gun! And ran and it created chaos as everyone just started running and yelling,” one Twitter user shared. ”I was there. Happened like 5 times last night in different areas.”
After police searched the area, they concluded that there was not an active shooter, nor any shots fired. However, some on social media claim they did hear multiple shots around the time the panic began, but police did not find any evidence of shots fired. A public information officer for Dallas Police Department told Local Profile that after a preliminary investigation into the incident, they are unable to confirm whether or not an actual crime occurred.
"Just in a matter of minutes, we were able to confirm that we didn't have a tragic incident," the director of security for the State Fair of Texas Jeff Cotney told WFAA. "In fact, we were able to look at it by camera within minutes. We felt very good about what we had. But, still, we wanted to take some action just out of an abundance of caution."
Because of the disruption and in order to take safety precautions the fair was closed. Even though no real threat was identified, the fair closed an hour earlier than usual on Friday, shutting down at 10 p.m. instead of the normal 11 p.m. hours.
