A chaotic incident at the NCA All-Star National Championship in Dallas led to multiple injuries and widespread panic this past weekend. The incident occurred Saturday around 1 p.m. at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center when a disturbance between parents resulted in several poles being knocked down, according to Dallas police.
The falling poles created loud noises that multiple attendees mistook for gunshots, prompting numerous 911 calls. The confusion triggered a large police response and caused panic among the crowd, leading to what authorities described as a “stampede” and the evacuation of the building. Saturday’s competition was subsequently canceled.
One attendee shared photos on X (formerly Twitter) of what she claimed were bullet holes, stating “@DallasPD @dallasnews tell me AGAIN how I ran for my life for no reason because there wasn’t a shooting in the arena at the NCA cheerleading championships in Dallas this weekend. Those are the doors I had to run out of!! Corruption at its finest! DO BETTER!!”
Ten people sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the evacuation and were transported to four different area hospitals, according to Fox 4 News.
While the competition resumed on Sunday, several teams opted not to participate following the incident. A cheer mom from St. Louis expressed concerns about security measures at such events.
“This isn’t just Dallas. These large convention centers don’t have security, no bag checks, so we’re hoping, unfortunately, we might have to use this as a lesson learned and just hope they up security,” she said.
Dallas police report that no arrests have been made, and the incident remains under investigation.
