Fight, 'popping sound' prompt false active shooter reports at Magic Kingdom: Police

Chaos erupted at Magic Kingdom in Orlando on Thursday after a fight and a popping sound led to rumors of an active shooter at the park.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said on social media that there was no active shooter at the park and that a fight broke out and a "popping" sound was heard that police believe was a balloon.

"Guests began running and that's how the active shooter rumor started," the sheriff's office said on social media.

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Parkgoers panic over chaos at Disney's Magic Kingdom

A social media user posted a video of the scenes at Magic Kingdom to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday evening.

"Went to magic kingdom today and there was literally a stampede because of a suspected shooter i thought that was actually going to be my last day. i was shoved out of the way and fell. mothers were crying looking for their daughters, people were hiding, it was so bad," said user @anxrosa in the post.

Another user, identified on her X profile as Fernanda Lucio, posted video of the park being evacuated.

Disney releases statement on incident

“We appreciate the immediate response of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to quickly assess and clear the situation. Normal operations have resumed and the park is now closed for the evening,” a Disney World spokesperson said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fight, 'popping sound' prompt false active shooter reports at Magic Kingdom: Police