The Latest on three stabbings and a stampede at the Navy Pier’s annual fireworks show (all times local):
2 p.m.
Chicago police say a 4th of July stampede at Navy Pier that injured more than a dozen people started when private security officers who might have mistaken a firecracker for gunfire warned bystanders to take cover.
Fred Waller is Chicago Police chief of patrol. He told reporters at a news conference Friday that security officers believed there was a gunman and urged people to get to the ground. Waller says nearby city police officers searched the area according to protocol for a shooting incident.
But a panicked crowd scattered. Police say about 13 people were injured in the resulting melee.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says his staff will review the incident with the private security team but says he finds no fault in how it was handled.
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7:20 a.m.
Chicago police are searching for two male suspects in a fight that led to panic and a stampede which injured more than a dozen people at the Navy Pier’s annual fireworks show.
Police say two teenage boys and a man suffered non-life-threatening injuries when they were stabbed after a group of young males flashed gang signs at Thursday night’s fireworks show that draws thousands of people to the Lake Michigan shoreline each year.
Police say panic ensued when someone threw what’s believed to be firecrackers, creating a stampede. Chicago Police Spokesman Rocco Alito says 14 people were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries after being trampled during the rush of people fleeing the scene.
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1:06 a.m.
More than a dozen people have been injured after Chicago police say a fight at the annual fireworks show caused panic at Navy Pier.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says three people were stabbed during the fight that followed the Fourth of July display, which draws thousands of people to the Lake Michigan shoreline each year. Guglielmi says 16 others were taken to hospitals after being trampled during the rush of people fleeing the scene.
The spokesman adds that initial reports of a shooting were inaccurate. It’s unclear if anyone has been arrested.
Police are investigating.
