Panic and confusion erupted in Central Park on Saturday night after a loud noise frightened concertgoers at the Global Citizen Festival, with some people erroneously attributing the sound to gunshots. Witnesses described a near-stampede in some places, as people sprinted for cover, jumped fences and trampled one another. Some were in tears and called their loved ones, and others said they had lost items or gotten separated from their friends, according to social media reports. But the police quickly refuted reports of a shooting, saying that the noise was from a fallen barrier, not gunshots.

Source: New York Times September 30, 2018 01:07 UTC