Fight in stands set off stadium panic

A report from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism reveals a fight in the stands, which included a stun gun, set off the initial panic Aug. 25 during a high school football game between Bryant and Benton at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

The report, obtained Wednesday by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, said panic and confusion spread quickly among the crowd of 38,000 on hand to watch the Salt Bowl, an annual matchup between the Saline County rivals.

That led to a “mass panic situation,” with an estimated 25,000 spectators eventually fleeing in fear an active shooter was in the stadium, according to the report.

The report said no evidence was found of any shots being fired during the panic, and no shooter was ever confirmed. No charges have been filed against any of people involved in the altercation and none are expected, Arkansas Parks and Tourism Executive Director Kane Webb said Wednesday.

Officials said the incident began when a fight between about 10 male youths broke out around 9:05 p.m. in the stadium, near the top of the bleachers in Section 21, and one of the individuals pulled out a stun gun.

Multiple spectators in the section saw the stun gun and began yelling “Gun, Gun,” which led to hundreds of spectators running north in the stadium stands and others fleeing toward exit ramps throughout the stadium.

The group involved in the altercation entered the stadium corridor and ran north past the concession stands, yelling “Gun, Gun,” the report said. The person with the stun gun continued to activate it as he ran through a corridor, and touched a juvenile girl on the back of her upper thigh with the stun gun as he passed her.

Terri Rutledge, emergency services manager for Arkansas State Parks, said the girl told officials she didn’t think the suspect intentionally touched her with the stun gun. Rutledge said he thought the suspect activated the gun out of panic.

“The whole thing was a mass panic situation,” Rutledge said.

The report estimated 5,000 people were running in all directions throughout the stadium at that point. Multiple barriers were knocked down near Gate 7, the sound of which led to more people yelling “Gun,” according to the report.

Event staff member Nikita Osborne eventually confronted the youth with the stun gun and took it from him, Rutledge said.

As officers from Arkansas State Parks, the Little Rock Police Department and the Pulaski County sheriff’s office tried to control the scene, event staffers continued to chase the group involved in the original altercation back up the ramp in Section 34.

Osborne activated the stun gun as event staffers chased the subjects into the stands, according to the report, but Rutledge said Osborne didn’t hit any of the suspects. The suspects began yelling, “Gun, he’s got a gun,” which caused more panic as fans in Section 34 began running east, according to the report.