Amtrak police used a Taser on man inside Penn Station on Friday evening, causing a mass panic.
It was mass hysteria Friday evening at Penn Station with thousands of people running in every direction, leaving behind their shoes, luggage, and other valuables fearing the absolute worst.
Panicked screams were followed by a stampede of travelers at Penn Station Friday during the peak of the rush hour commute, when Amtrak police attempted to detain two men for disobeying orders.
“They were trying to calm down that man,” an eyewitness said.
Eyewitness News’ cameras were there as transit police used a Taser on one of the men. He managed to get away from officers, but was tackled moments later.
In the midst of the chaos, some people overheard a false rumor that there was an active shooter in the terminal sparking a frenzied domino effect all the way to the NJ Transit terminal.
“Everyone just started screaming and we didn’t know what was going on, so I just like took them and ran to the back of the store and we jumped over the counter at Nathan’s and just hid in one of the storage rooms,” said Anna Renzi, a tourist.
NYPD NYPD got over two dozen calls about an active shooter that never existed.
The multiple reports of an active shooter & shots fired in & around @Macys #HeraldSquare are UNFOUNDED at this time.@NYPDMTS
— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) April 14, 2017
EMS treated 16 patients with non-life threatening injuries at Penn Station.
“It was scary as you can see it’s a mess here,” one person said.
Aftermath of the stampede in Penn Station. It was crazy. Unclear what exactly sparked it. @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/eKXFKDgTxV
— Erica Byfield (@EricaByfield4NY) April 14, 2017
“People were dropping luggage, kids, everybody was just running,” a witness told NBC New York. “Everybody was really scared. It was a stampede.”
Shooting rumors made it to Herald Square.
Just had to evacuate @Macys in Herald Square. Lots of cops and ambulances. Ran down 7 flight of stairs. No idea what’s going on #nyc #macys pic.twitter.com/uRhNDMjMr5
— Betsy Weber (@betsyweber) April 14, 2017
Penn Station had already been a chaotic scene on Friday evening due to delays and cancelations after an NJ Transit train with 1,200 passengers got stuck in a tunnel for three hours.
Amtrak police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
H/T ABC 7 NY
