Mayhem took over for a brief time at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas on Saturday night, as thousands gathered to watch the annual Salt Bowl. The crowds — and the football players — nearly stampeded after a rumor spread that shots had been fired. You can watch that here. And you can see more video here: You can also see the empty seats and football fields as the frightened crowd tried to run to safety, here. Absolute chaos here at the #Saltbowl but no clue what’s going on… any suggestions? pic.twitter.com/c0IXLiLMxn — Dennis Cavanaugh (@cavywx) August 26, 2018 There were reports on social media that an active shooter was on the loose in the stadium. The whole stadium was briefly on lockdown while police carried out an investigation. An estimated 38,000 people were in the stadium to watch the annual game between the two rival teams, Benton and Bryant. Little Rock Police Say There Was No Active Shooter, Just a Minor Fight There has been NO shooting incident at War Memorial Stadium. Their was a fight that caused minor injuries. LRPD is on the scene handling this incident. — Little Rock Police (@LRpolice) August 26, 2018 It’s unclear how so many people came to believe that there was an active shooter in the stadium. But after investigating, Little Rock police announced that there was absolutely no active shooter on the scene. They said there was a fight, but one that did not involve weapons. One attendee said that officials had taken out a stretcher. News reports later confirmed that two people had been taken out of the stadium on stretchers. It wasn’t immediately clear whether they were injured in the fight, or whether they were hurt in the stampede when people tried to flee the stadium. Someone Apparently Started Yelling ‘Gun’ And the Whole Crowd Panicked A fight broke out 5 rows behind us. It then moved over 2 sections. People in the section started yelling he has. Gun. And hell broke lose. — Anita (@neetsark) August 26, 2018 A witness named “Anita” said afterwards that a fight had broken out five rows behind where she was sitting. She said the fight then “moved over” two sections. And then, people in the crowd started yelling, “gun!” After that, Anita said, “hell broke loose.” As rumors of a gunman spread, the crowd of 38,000 people panicked, and rushed for the exits. It was not clear whether anyone was injured in the rush to get out. Reports Say The Rest of the Game Is Cancelled and the Hornets Won REPORT: According to rule, Bryant will win Salt Bowl XIX as half the game has been played. Hornets win 28-14. — SalineCourierSports (@SalineCourierSp) August 26, 2018 When the gunshots were reported, the game between Benton and Bryant was a little more than halfway over. The Bryant Hornets were in the lead, 28-14. There were just over 9 minutes left in the third quarter. The remainder of tonight's Salt Bowl game between Benton and Bryant has been cancelled due to an incident at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Bryant led 28-14 with 9:22 left in the third quarter.#arpreps — Jeremy Muck (@JeremyMuckADG) August 26, 2018 Saline Courier Sports is reporting that according to the rules, that makes the Hornets the winner, since half the game was over and they were ahead.<doc-sep>Saturday night's incident on Aug. 25 at War Memorial, resulted in a quick end to the 2018 Salt Bowl. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Saturday night's incident on Aug. 25 at War Memorial, resulted in a quick end to the 2018 Salt Bowl. Bryant and Benton High School's highly-anticipated football game ended after reports of gunshots came throughout the stadium. Little Rock police confirmed there were no shots fired during the game. Reports said a fight escalated, which lead to barricades knocking over therefore sounding like shots being fired. Police are investigating the incident. The big question is if or when the Salt Bowl will resume play. According to Joey Walters, Deputy Director of the Arkansas Athletic Association (AAA), the Salt Bowl game will stand as is. The Arkansas Athletic Association rules for non-conference football games states: "If a game is suspended at any time after the first half, the game will be considered 'complete' and the existing score will stand."<doc-sep>The 2018 Salt Bowl ends in mass chaos at War Memorial. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The annual Salt Bowl, Benton vs Bryant, high school football game was held at War Memorial Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 25. According to a joint release from the Little Rock Police Department and Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, during the latter part of the third quarter, there was an altercation that occurred inside the concourse section of the stadium between unknown subjects. At this time it is not known if it was just verbal or also became physical. Police said they have received information that a stun gun was deployed and “dry fired” by a person attending the game. After the "dry fire" was made, people attending the game believed that they heard gunshots and began passing that information on verbally and through social media and texts. There was a second “dry fire” of the stun gun at which point people began to flee certain sections of the west (Bryant) side of the stadium. There were also reports of people yelling “gun” which continued to upset the situation. As other attendees began to see people flee and hear “reports” of gunfire, they also began trying to flee the stadium. There were several metal barricades outside the stadium that were knocked over during this time. When those hit the ground they made a loud noise that could have also been mistaken as gunfire. “This was a misunderstanding of sound," said Arkansas State Parks Public Information Coordinator, Meg Matthews. "There were sounds that sounded like gunfire, but they weren't.” Primary security for the event was the Arkansas State Park Rangers. Little Rock Police Department Officers work in an off duty capacity for security inside the stadium and Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office deputies work outside security and traffic control. There was also stadium security present at the game as well as school resource officers from both Benton and Bryant police departments. Stadium security officers did check bags and individuals were wanded as needed prior to entering the stadium. Matthews said they did check people's bags last night. "We did wand people if we found something in their pocket that was suspect. We found that our protocol was very successful last night,” she said. There was an estimated crowd of 38,000 people for this year’s game. There were injuries reported. One individual received a lower leg injury from jumping over a wall and another person fell down and was stepped on while other injuries were heat related. There were medical officials on the scene and others who responded and treated the injured. Law enforcement officials successfully reunited all families that were separated during the initial incident. The group of individuals involved in the altercation were able to leave without being identified. It is not known at this time if the suspects were students or just individuals attending the game. Little Rock Police Department officers arrested a juvenile female after the fact for disorderly conduct. The arrest was not related to the initial incident and she was given a citation and released to a parent. There were no other arrests made. Matthews said they have never seen anything like this. “We really respect everyone’s right to say and do what they want," said Matthews, "especially on social media, but we would greatly encourage them to be respectful of others and go with the facts as opposed to rumors when they get on social media because it can result in a panicky situation, and that’s not good for anybody.” Salt Bowl Committee Member, Shane Broadway said he did not want what happened last night to overshadow all of the good that happened yesterday. “The story for me is more of the heroes," said Broadway, "the people who were out trying to help parents find their children and grandchildren, the Benton football players who were putting their helmets on Bryant cheerleaders, the Bryant football players who had kids huddled underneath them because of their pads to protect them. Those are the stories I’m going to choose to remember. The ones that are going to take me awhile to forget are the panic and the horror in some of the parents eyes as they were looking for their child.” He said the Salt Bowl committee does not want what happened last night to overshadow all of the good that happened yesterday. They hope people will eventually remember the great time that they had. The Little Rock Police Department will continue to work with the Arkansas Parks Rangers to identify the individuals who were involved in the initial altercation.<doc-sep>
Little Rock Police Department said there has been no shooting incident at War Memorial Stadium. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Following reports of an active shooter during the 2018 Salt Bowl, the Little Rock Police Department said there was no shooting incident at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. During the 3rd quarter between Benton and Bryant, fans scrambled for the exits. It came after initial reports of a gun and popping noises followed a fight in the stands. Little Rock police responded to the scene. They worked with Arkansas State Park Rangers, the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office and Saline County authorities to secure the stadium. There has been NO shooting incident at War Memorial Stadium. Their was a fight that caused minor injuries. LRPD is on the scene handling this incident. — Little Rock Police (@LRpolice) August 26, 2018 According to Officer Steve Moore with the Little Rock Police Department, several people were treated for leg and ankle injuries suffered during the incident. Others were treated for heat-related illness, he said. A teenage girl was arrested outside War Memorial Stadium and charged as a juvenile with disorderly conduct, Moore said. She allegedly became unruly following the situation inside the stadium and was uncooperative with officers, he said. This video captured by @THV11 Photojournalist Sam Belk shows the panic & chaos at War Memorial Stadium tonight. The #SaltBowl was canceled after a reported fight. People thought shots were fired, but police say that was not the case. DETAILS --> https://t.co/GyN8aWRk7G pic.twitter.com/NUmfMrB5A4 — Michael Aaron (@michaelfaaron) August 26, 2018 War Memorial Stadium is under the jurisdiction of the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism. As a result, park rangers are expected to lead the investigation into Saturday's incident. The game ended following the incident, and authorities worked to reunite families who became separated amid the chaos. More than 38,000 people attended the game, according to Salt Bowl committee member Shane Broadway. "Whoever caused it needs to be brought to justice," Broadway said of the incident. "Kids lost tonight, kids who worked their butts off all summer long to play in a football game that means a lot to both of these communities," We applaud the efforts of the War Memorial security team and staff, school resource officers from both the Bryant and Benton School Districts, and the quick response of the Little Rock Police Department during tonight's Salt Bowl incident. — Bryant Schools (@BryantSchools) August 26, 2018