COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police confirmed several reports of shootings during Red, White & BOOM! in downtown Columbus Monday night were deemed false.
The Columbus Division of Police received calls of reported shootings in different locations within the downtown area, including South Front Street and in the area of South Civic Center Drive and West Broad Street
A spokesperson with Columbus police told 10TV that a couple of people started fighting during the event and a large group of people ran from the scene believing a shooting had occurred.
In an updated Facebook post, police said "it is believed the multiple incidents of people running was started by a small group of people in an attempt to get a reaction from the large crowd."
Police said officers found no evidence that a shooting occurred and there were no reported injuries.
Mayor Andrew Ginther said he was glad that no one was hurt and called this year Red, White & BOOM! a successful event.
"It was a bizarre incident where people make folks anxious or uneasy about being in large groups certainly after the last several years, incidents around the world people are a little more anxious about being amongst larger groups of people. Any time anyone does anything to make folks uneasy or concerned or to fear, we know there was nothing to fear, no shots fired. There were no weapons, there were no issues. It was a very safe event," Mayor Andrew Ginther said.
Columbus City Councilmember Emmanual Remy said he saw kids pushing and shoving before people started running.
"Safety is a feeling and we are striving to make sure people feel safe. It is going to be a constant battle," Remy said.
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