Massive Gun Control Protest In DC Bursts Into Stampede After Active Shooter Rumor

Demonstrators at the March for Our Lives rally protesting in support of gun law reform were sent running by a shooting scare on Saturday.

The crowd surged into what one witness described as a "near-stampede" after a man was heard yelling by several witnesses that he had a gun, the Daily Beast reported.

"We heard a commotion and screaming and then all of a sudden, somebody yelled, 'Everybody get down,' and I'm unsure whether that came from security or another person in the crowd," Brandon Farbstein, an activist who was present at the rally, told Insider. "But everybody, quite literally, in an instant dropped like flies. We were so utterly petrified of what was going on, while not having any indication of what was happening."

US Park Police detained one person in connection with the incident and released a statement that said "no weapons were involved and there is no risk to the public."

The scare came as demonstrators were participating in the second March for Our Lives rally in support of gun control measures.