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Mass shooting scare creates panic among tourists at Times Square

The Crossroads of the World was packed with tourists and revellers at about 10 pm on a warm night in New York City when a few passing motorcycles backfired and people thought they were hearing gunfire.

Mass shooting scare creates panic among tourists at Times Square

People running for safety after hearing a loud bang on the Times Sqauare, New York on Aug, 6, 2019 (Photo: IANS)

Women fell, babies were injured and thousands of people were left shaken to their core as a scare of yet another mass shooting hit tourists at the crowded Times Square late on Tuesday.

The Crossroads of the World was packed with tourists and revelers at about 10 pm on a warm night in New York City when a few passing motorcycles backfired and people thought they were hearing gunfire.

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The video showed thousands of people running north on Broadway as they thought their lives were in danger.

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Several families were seen crying on 44th and 45th Street on Eighth Avenue after a sea of tourists started running all over.

The New York Police Department’s Midtown North tweeted about the backfiring, saying, “There is no active shooter in Times Square. Motorcycles backfiring while passing through sounded like gunshots” (sic).

The NYPD said that it received multiple 911 calls about the incident.

There have been no reports of major injuries yet.

Last week, a shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, resulted in the deaths of 22 people and injuries to more than two dozen other shoppers.

A man was taken into custody in the shooting.

He told police he was targeting Mexicans, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Just about 14 hours later a man opened fire outside a bar in downtown Dayton, Ohio, that killed nine people, including his sister.

The suspect shooter was fatally killed by police, who were patrolling the area in less than a minute.

Both shooters were using semi-automatic rifles.

US President Donald Trump had condemned the mass shooting incident on Saturday at a Walmart store in Texas and called it an act of cowardice.

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