An incident involving Amtrak police and a taser caused panic at Penn Station on Friday, leading to a stampede nearby.
Amtrak police said they tased a man around 6 p.m. after he disobeyed orders at the terminal.
It is not clear what exactly happened, but they said said the man is in custody and charges are pending.
But the sound of the incident was misinterpreted as shots fired, leading to a stampede.
Some of those travelers ran to the Macy's store in Herald Square and called in reports of a shooter.
Police said the Macy's was briefly put on lockdown, and the active shooter reports were unfounded.
Mini stampede here in Penn Station just now. Apparently somebody yelled "Gun!" & everybody just took off running/screaming. Madness. pic.twitter.com/WfXQjZEvt2
— Alexander Hardy (@chrisalexander_) April 14, 2017
First responders and numerous officials refuted those reports.
Reports of shots fired at Penn Station and surrounding area are UNTRUE. @NYPDMTS @Amtrak @NYPDSpecialops @NYPDCT
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 14, 2017
No shots were fired at Penn Station this evening. FDNY is on scene treating injuries that were sustained during panic.
— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 14, 2017
Police believe the chaos started with a separate transit incident around 3 p.m.
A New Jersey Transit train lost power and stalled while heading into the city, leading to long delays at the start of the evening rush.
The FDNY said 16 people were evaluated for injuries at the scene. 12 were taken to area hospitals, while four were treated at the scene.
Officials said about 1,200 passengers were stranded on the New Jersey Transit train for several hours.