PANIC

Three Stabbed and 16 Trampled at Fourth of July Fireworks Show in Chicago

Police believe the stampede may have been sparked after someone in the crowd shouted that there had been a shooting.

Fourth of July celebrations turned to horror in Chicago when three people were stabbed at a fireworks show Thursday night, and 16 others were hospitalized in a stampede as they tried to flee. Chicago Fire Department officials said the stabbings took place shortly after the fireworks had ended at the city’s Navy Pier and NBC Chicago reports all three victims are in area hospitals in serious-to-critical conditions. An eyewitness to the stampede said he had “no clue what was going on,” explaining: “I was walking toward the exit and all of the sudden people were running toward me... My first instinct was to run away as well. It was just a panic.” A Chicago Police spokesman said the stampede may have been sparked after someone shouted “Gun!” in the crowd. Fire officials say that most of the people who were caught up in the panic are expected to be OK.