(NewsNation) — Chaos broke out after a boxing match at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn Saturday evening.
Shortly after the event ended, a loud noise sent thousands into a panic, sending people running for their lives. Some mistook the sound for an active shooter, creating a stampede that injured 18 people, nine of whom ended up in the hospital.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) later determined there were no shots fired.
Reporter Ryan Songalia was sitting ringside when the frenzy ensued.
“The thought crossed my mind that something bad was happening and I needed to run for my life as well,” he said on “Morning In America” Monday.
Songalia said he didn’t hear the noise that set the crowd off but began to worry when hoards of people began running toward the exits.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka was also witnessed the chaos Saturday night, tweeting: “I was just at the Barclays center and suddenly I heard shouting and saw people running, then we were being yelled at that there was an active shooter and we had to huddle in a room and close the doors, I was so f’n petrified man.”
The panic comes after two high profile mass shootings in less than two weeks. A self-described white supremacist killed ten people at a Buffalo grocery store earlier this month.
Just last week, 19 children and two adults, were murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In both cases, the suspected gunmen were 18 years old.
The psychological impact of those incidents extend far beyond the communities where they occurred. Psychologists say people across the country may be experiencing depression, nervousness and anxiety as they think about mass shootings.
In a 2018 survey conducted for the American Psychological Association, 75% of young people between 15 and 21 said that mass shootings were a significant source of stress for them. Most adults ranging in age from 22 to 72 felt the same way.
That possibility weighed heavily on Songalia, who feared the worst on Saturday.
“Your mind goes to what could be the worst case scenario, so you have to sort of be on edge because you never know when these things are going to occur,” said Songalia.