Face of Nation : Three people were stabbed after Fourth of July fireworks on Chicago’s Navy Pier, and 16 people suffered injuries after being trampled, police said.
The Navy Pier was so packed with onlookers for the fireworks display Thursday night that the entrance had to be closed before the event due to capacity, pier officials tweeted.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a brief statement on Twitter that contrary to initial reports, no one was shot.
He said three people were stabbed following an altercation on the pier, a man punctured his leg running into a table, and 16 people were hospitalized after being trampled as they ran away.
“I was walking toward the exit and all of the sudden people were running toward me,” a witness who said people had no clue what was going on, told NBC Chicago. “My first instinct was to run away as well. It was just a panic, and everyone went along with it.”
NBC Chicago, citing Chicago fire officials, reported that the three stabbing victims were taken to hospitals in serious to critical condition.
The station reported that fire officials said most of the people trampled were expected to be OK. It was not immediately clear if anyone was arrested.
A police official told reporters the stampede was caused when someone said there was a gun, according to video posted online by the station.
The three people stabbed were “uncooperative” with investigators, the official said, stressing there was no shooting and that a person suffered a puncture wound from an overturned table.
