Dozens of people were injured when panic broke out during a candlelight vigil for Israel at the University of Florida, triggering what some many described as a stampede.
“Everyone started screaming and running,” Ahava, a UF senior who declined to give her surname due to privacy reasons, told The Independent. “No one knew what was happening, but we just knew to run. It was terrifying.”
The chaotic scene erupted just before 9pm on Monday in Turlington Plaza, where hundreds of UF students and community members had gathered to support Israel after Hamas launched the deadliest attack in decades on the country.
Already on edge from the attacks, the crowd who had gathered for the vigil began running in a panic, fearing an anti-Semitic attack, with people afterwards reporting that they heard a loud noise and shouts to call 911.
“We were all crying… but not because we were hurt, but because this is our reality,” UF junior Lielle, who also declined to give her surname, told The Independent. “We’re angry and we’re scared.”
Dramatic footage posted on Facebook by Matt V Gold showed a solemn large group listening to a speech during the vigil when suddenly a wave of panic spreads, and hundreds of people are screaming and scrambling.
“I escaped unharmed despite the human wave. I hope everyone is okay,” he wrote in the caption.
One commenter responded that it was the “scariest moment” of her life, and added “praying for all my fellow jews that have to live in constant fear like this.”
The vigil, described by Ahava as being “truly beautiful” before the scare, was left littered with shoes, hats and broken cameras, she recalled.
Her immediate family lives Israel, inlcuding her mother and sister, and they have felt the ground shake from the rocket strikes this week. Ahava said the connection to the terror felt all too real, and that while some in the crowd at the vigil thought there might have been a shooter, her first thought was a bomb, and she worried the Jewish community was being targeted.
“We all were calling our loved ones, running for our lives, fearful that we would not see another day. We’re so tired of this,” she wrote on Reddit.
A vigil attendee had fainted leading to the shouts for help, which were misunderstood by the crowd, the University of Florida Police Department said in a statement. In the immediate aftermath of Monday’s incident, there were reports of gunshots, but none were fired, officials confirmed.
Some say a person’s hydro flask water bottle dropped and made a loud noise, which combined with the person fainting and the shouts to call 911, created a stampede where students and community members tripped over each other trying to flee the scene.
More than 30 students went to UF Health Shands Hospital for injuries, The Gainesville Sun reported. Police confirmed five people were injured and treated at the scene. Injuries included minor concussions, gashes that required stitches, and at least one broken bone, but no one was admitted overnight, hospital officials told the outlet.
The University of Florida has the largest population of Jewish students of all public universities in the country, with nearly 6,500 students, according to WUFT.
Ahava, Lielle and another UF student friend said they were nervous about attending the vigil because of the recent attacks on Jewish civilians in Israel by Hamas. “This is not about politics or religion, this is about humans. Check up on ur Jewish friends, we are mourning,” Ahava said.
The group of students, who all fled the area and hid until police cleared the scene, were not seriously injured, though Ahava said she later noticed her wrist was bruised.
Chanie Goldman, co-director of the Chabad Jewish Student Center, sat with students at the hospital on Monday.
Israel vigil at the University of Florida before a stampede— (Ahava)
“It was a real stampede,” Goldman told The Gainsville Sun. “Kids are very shaken up ... People came to the event on edge to begin with because there is a fear for going to any Jewish event that something could happen.”
UF Police Chief Linda Stump-Kurnick said in a statement, “We have no reason to believe that there was malicious intent behind this incident. It was an accident that was misinterpreted by the crowd that led to panic.”
Rabbi Berl Goldman told The Gainsville Sun that the “United with Israel” candlelight vigil had drawn about 1,000 people to pay respect to those who lost their lives over the weekend in the deadly attacks in Israel.
Hamas bombarded Israel in the deadliest attack on Israel in decades, killing over 1,000 people and taking dozens hostage. Militants fired rockets and opened fire on civilians celebrating the week-long Jewish holiday Sukkot. Some of those attacked were attending a music festival. The next day, Israel formally declared war on Hamas and has been sending airstrikes to Gaza.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in response to Hamas deadly attack on Israel last week— (Anadolu/Getty)
Israel then unleashed what Gaza residents described as the most intense bombing campaign in recent memory, with hundreds of airstrikes Monday night.
The UF community has set up an Israel emergency fund to collect donations, which will be distributed amongst verified Israeli agencies.
The rabbit said he believes the panic at UF was a reaction to the fear many are already experiencing with the rise in anti-Semitism, recent shootings and attacks in Israel.
“Thank God there wasn’t anything other than panic,” he said.
