Usain Bolt's Historic Sprint May Have Triggered Panic at JFK

Police found no evidence of gunshots at the major U.S. travel hub.

ByABC News
August 15, 2016, 2:53 PM

— -- Sunday night's confusion-filled panic at John F. Kennedy International Airport may have been caused by a 911 caller mistaking a raucous celebration of Usain Bolt’s Olympic victory for something more ominous, two police sources told ABC News.

By the time police responded at 9:34 p.m. Sunday, they were receiving report of "shots fired," prompting a shutdown of one of the world's busiest airports.

There were no injuries during the incident, according to police.

Operations at the airport didn't resume until 12:45 a.m. today after police had given the all-clear, finding no evidence of gunshots.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials have spent the day combing through security camera footage, according to the sources.

So far, no images or audio indicate any gunshots Sunday night.

Bolt won gold in the 100 meter competition in a time of 9.81 seconds, securing himself the title of the fastest man in the world.

During the shutdown, police searched every part of Terminal 8, a usually packed American Airlines terminal, looking for evidence of a gun, bullets or a victim. The search turned up nothing.

The false alarm at Terminal 8 preceded another one at Terminal 1, which was then shut down and searched.

Video taken by a witness Sunday night contains a loud noise that could be mistaken for the reported gunshot, but law enforcement officials have told ABC News that this is not the case. They said this video originated as the terminal was already being cleared.

The video shows a group of police officers walking through the terminal with long guns, yelling for people to get down on the floor.

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