ORLANDO, Fla. — What started as a peaceful firework display over Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, quickly became mass chaos as people fled the area, leaving behind chairs, strollers, blankets and other personal items.
While the exact reason is unknown, police said a noise spooked the crowd about 10 minutes into the fireworks display Monday night. Hundreds watching the fireworks began to run from the area, separating families and friends and causing mayhem.
In a press conference Tuesday morning, Orlando Piece Chief Orlando Rolón gave updates on the police investigation of what occurred.
The Orlando Police Department is focusing on the area of Central Boulevard near Rosalind Avenue as "ground zero" of the investigation into what caused the fear. There is currently no evidence showing shots were fired, Chief Rolón said.
Chief Rolón presented a video during the conference that shows where the panic began.
In the beginning of the video, two people are seen jogging through the crowd as cameras flash and the fireworks show is in progress. Seconds later you can see people begin to run in what Chief Rolón called "a chain reaction."
"Understandably so, people see others running, you're hearing all the news coverage about what happened elsewhere during some of the celebrations and people were being overly reactive to whatever was going on around them," he said. "And rightly so."
The July 4th display was the 45th annual Fireworks at the Fountain. Hundreds of families, friends and children were gathered to watch the firework display in chairs and on blankets laid across the lawn.
Micah Jean-Baptiste, a 19-year-old downtown Orlando resident, ventured out to watch the fireworks with a group of friends. As she and her friends searched for a place to watch, an escape route was on the back of her mind.
"In my head, I'm thinking OK wherever we stop, I need to find a way to get out because of what already happened earlier that day in Illinois," Jean-Baptiste told 10 Tampa Bay.
She's referring to the mass shooting that took place at a Chicago 4th of July parade where 7 were killed and 30 injured.
This shooting was just one of the latest that has rattled life in America. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now holiday celebrations have become zones for mass killing. There have been at least 314 mass shootings so far in 2022 in the U.S. according to Gun Violence Archive.
After finding a spot with shrubs that provided a place to duck and cover, Jean-Baptiste and her friends watched the fireworks display. However, a few minutes in, Jean-Baptiste said she noticed waves of people in the crowd running.
At first, she didn't believe what she was seeing, but it quickly became real.
Jean-Baptiste took off and what she said was about five minutes of horror ensued. In the process of running, she was separated from her group. People were panicking and crying. Some grabbed their children in time to flee while others got separated.
As she ran, she thought to herself "I can't believe this is what we're celebrating. We're in literal fear for our lives."
"If I stopped, I was afraid I was going to die," she said. "The whole time, I was thinking about my mom and my sister."
Keyland Davis, an Orlando resident, was also at the firework display during the stampede. He called the experience traumatizing.
He and his pregnant wife were enjoying the fireworks, their first night out in a while. Davis said he was on edge being in the large crowd because of the number of mass shootings that had happened recently. He watched from one side of the lake as people began to run on the other. Shortly after, chaos broke loose on his side.
People were screaming and getting trampled, yelling at others to get down he said. Davis and his wife started to run, leaving their shoes behind. His main concern was his pregnant wife.
Even though he was able to help her get over a fence, she suffered injuries to her foot and eye, Davis said.
"I was just trying not to let her fall," he said. "If she fell then she probably would've gotten stomped on, and she would've gotten hurt, and the baby would've gotten hurt. It was scary to be honest with you."
Davis didn't notice anything out of the ordinary to cause people to flee.
"I just think that all this was caused because of panic," he said. "People were fearful. They didn't know what was going on. They were on edge with what was going on in the country."
Davis and his wife aren't planning to go anywhere for a while after this experience, he said.
"We're just going to try to avoid large gatherings," he said. "She's a bit traumatized."
Charges are possible if the OPD investigation finds that someone intentionally caused panic at the Independence Day celebration.
OPD is asking community members, in particular, anyone who was in the ground zero area at about 9:50 p.m. Monday night to come forward with information or video in order to pinpoint what led to people running from the area.
Those with information can contact the non-emergency line at 321-235-5300 or call the anonymous tip line, Crimeline, at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477) or **TIPS (8477).
The police department offered the link below for community members to upload any videos or photos they have.
The press office for OPD shared these steps:
- Click on the link and submit a cell phone number. There are fields for a name, last name, and date of birth, but those are optional.
- Once Step 1 is completed, you will receive a text message with a link where you will be prompted to upload any videos/photos you would like to share with detectives.
- Click "Submit" and you are done