Considering this past weekend's tragedies that took place in Dayton and El Paso where 31 people were killed and dozens more injured after mass shootings, there's no surprise that Americans are being extra careful in populated destinations. New York was subject to a false alarm last night when pedestrians mistook the backfiring of motorcycles as gunshots, forcing everyone to stampede in opposite directions.
The incident took place around 10 PM near 7th Avenue and 46th Street. In the clip below, you can see the herds of people running as they suspected that another mass shooting was taking place.
The NYPD followed up with a tweet shortly after assuring everyone that there was no mass shooting and the area is safe. "There is no #ActiveShooter in #TimesSquare. Motorcycles backfiring while passing through sounded like gun shots," an official tweet read.
CNN reports that several pedestrians were injured during the chaos of running away but no serious injuries were reported. By 10:20 PM New York's Time Square was back to its normal pace and safe.
“[N]o other nation on Earth comes close to experiencing the frequency of mass shootings that we see in the United States,” Barack Obama wrote in his statement after the weekend's shootings. “Every time this happens, we’re told that tougher gun laws won’t stop all murders; they won’t stop every deranged individual from getting a weapon and shooting innocent people in public places. But the evidence shows that they can stop some killings. They can save some families from heartbreak."