Thousands of people gathered in Downtown Orlando at Lake Eola for Fireworks at the Fountain. With recent shootings, people are on edge everywhere they go, especially when there is a mass gathering. There was a scare at Lake Eola last night, but thankfully it was a false alarm.
What's Happening:
- There was a scare at the Fourth of July celebration, Fireworks at the Fountain at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando last night.
- The scare was prompted by apparent firecrackers being thrown into the crowd.
- Some witnesses thought they heard gunshots, but police said there was no evidence of a shooting.
- In the moment, this caused panic and people were running, trying to seek shelter as many thought there was a shooting. Some even jumped into the water to hide.
- Orlando Police said 12 people were injured while running from the scene, which happened shortly after the fireworks began at 9:45 p.m.
- According to clickorlando.com, witnesses said:
- "Out of nowhere we saw people running, and then we heard (what we thought were) shots. We heard it. It wasn’t lining up with the fireworks. They were obviously something else," the witness said.
- "People were jumping in the water, people were running toward the buildings," a woman said.
- "We believe this was fireworks that were going off in the crowd at the same time the main firework display was going on," Chief Deputy Eric Smith told News 6. "This caused people to run. They believed there were gunshots. Of course, people started running with everything that’s going on."
- Orlando Police said later that there was no shooting or public safety hazard.
- During the madness, some families were separated, and police were able to set up an area at North Rosalind Avenue and East Robinson Street for them to be reunited.
- There was also a lost-and-found area set up at the Lake Eola Parks Office at North Eola Drive and East Washington Street.