Dallas police confirmed there was no active shooter after an incident in Downtown Dallas near the Omni Hotel and Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center Saturday afternoon.
We can confirm that there was no active shooter at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. More information will follow when it becomes available.
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) March 1, 2025
The National Cheerleaders Association All-Star Championship competition was taking place at the convention center Saturday, with more than 58,000 people in attendance. Following the incident, the NCA competition host Varsity Brands said that activities were suspended for the day.
“The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has been evacuated as a precaution based on reports of a safety concern. NCA security officials are working with law enforcement to quickly investigate these reports, and they have confirmed there is not an active shooter involved,” Varsity Brands said in a statement. “As a precaution, we have suspended activities for today and will continue to work with event staff and local authorities to ensure a safe environment when we resume the event.”
Cheerleader parent Erika Castaneda said she was walking between the convention center and Omni hallway.
“As we were walking through, all of a sudden you heard somebody scream bloody murder and before you knew it people were just running in panic and trampling over each other and just trying to find a place of safety,” said Castaneda.”Thank God we’re OK.”
Katy Zigler from Atlanta said she was outside the arena waiting for an Uber when she saw thousands of people running down the hill and ended up running with the crowd even getting separated from a family member for 15 to 20 minutes in the chaos.
“We never heard any guns, we didn’t hear any shootings, we didn’t hear any guns, we just saw the mass of people running out of the Omni hotel,” said Zigler. “You know it’s always one of those just one of those — somebody screams, everybody runs and that’s what I felt like was the most unsafe.”
Zigler said it was clear there was panic, she saw kids iPads on the ground and cheer backpacks left on the street.
A family reunification center has been established at 400 N Lamar.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates as details unfold.
