The Metropolitan Opera House was evacuated Saturday evening, after police say a man dumped a powdery substance into the orchestra pit.
It happened during the second intermission of Rossini's "William Tell" around 5 p.m. Saturday.
The theater was evacuated out of caution, and another performance planned that night was cancelled.
They're still investigating, but witnesses say a man wanted to spread his friend's ashes during the opera.
Police say the man may have violated a health code, but they believe there was no criminal intent.
"We have had people do this in other venues, stadiums, public places, monuments in trying to honor people, so it's not something we haven't seen before," said NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller. "I think when you take today's environment and you see an individual sprinkling what appears to be small amounts of powder in the orchestra pit. You can certainly see why people were concerned."
"I've never have come across this, in my 11 years as general manager, this is a first for us," said Peter Gelb, for The Met.
The Met says it will be open for its next performance Monday.