Reports of shooting inside NBA YoungBoy concert deemed a false alarm
New Orleans police officers responded to reports of shots fired inside the Smoothie King Arena
MONITORING OUTSIDE OF THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER, A LARGE POLICE PRESENCE RIGHT NOW OUTSIDE THE NBA. YOUNG CONCERT. WE KNOW 400 OFFICERS WERE ON DUTY TODAY FOR SECURITY PURPOSES. OUR REPORTER, JASMIN FRANKLIN IS OUT THERE MONITORING THE SITUATION. AND AS YOU ARE GETTING READY FOR YOUR LIVE SHOT, JASMINE, YOU SAW A LOT OF POLICE ACTIVITY IN A RUSH AND A FLURRY OF VEHICLES PASSING BY. CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO US WHAT’S GOING ON OUT THERE? WELL, WE’RE STILL WORKING TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, BUT MULTIPLE FANS HAVE CONFIRMED THERE WAS SOME SORT OF STAMPEDE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER. I’M ACTUALLY HERE WITH SOME FANS RIGHT NOW THAT CAN SHARE MORE INSIGHT INTO WHAT THEY EXPERIENCED. SO KIND OF WALK US THROUGH. YOU’RE HEADING INSIDE THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER. WHAT HAPPENED? WELL, WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE SECURITY GATE. YOU KNOW, THEY WERE RUNNING EVERYTHING THROUGH. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYONE JUST STARTED RUN RUSHING THE DOORS. APPARENTLY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HERE LONGER THAN ME, AND THEY HAVEN’T BEEN LETTING PEOPLE IN BECAUSE THERE’S FIGHTS INSIDE. I HONESTLY THINK THAT SMOOTHIE KING CENTER SHOULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE MORE PREPARED, ESPECIALLY KNOWING THE MAGNITUDE OF YOUNG BOY THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY SHOULD HAVE A LITTLE MORE CONTROL OVER WHAT’S GOING ON. BUT HAVING EVERYONE STAND OUTSIDE THE DOORS THAT PAID FROM 250 TO $1500 FOR A TICKET IS IS UNREAL. AND I KNOW THIS WAS JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO, SO KIND OF WALK US THROUGH WHAT YOU SAW WHEN YOU WERE UP. THERE WERE PEOPLE RUNNING UP TO THE DOORS. WHAT DID THAT LOOK LIKE? THEY WERE RUNNING AND JUMPING OVER THE GATES. YOU KNOW, EVERYONE WAS SCREAMING AT ONE POINT BECAUSE THEY PROBABLY THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ROWDINESS SOMEONE WAS SHOOTING, BUT IN REALITY, IT WAS JUST EVERYONE TRYING TO GET IN. LIKE I SAID, EVERYONE PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THESE TICKETS, SO THEY WANT TO GET THROUGH THE DOOR BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. I KNOW THAT HE’S ALSO FROM HERE. THIS IS HIS HOME STATE FROM BATON ROUGE. KIND OF WALK US THROUGH HOW FRUSTRATING THAT IS. I KNOW YOU WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SHOW AND YOU DIDN’T GET TO GO INSIDE. THAT’S EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING. I SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON HAIR MAKEUP. SO DID MY FRIENDS. YOU KNOW, EVERYONE IN THE CITY CAME OUT AND THEN ALSO THEY GOT OTHER DATES LIKE ATLANTA THAT WAS CANCELED. AND THOSE PEOPLE CAME HERE EXPECTING A BETTER EXPERIENCE. AND THEY GET HERE AND THIS IS WHAT THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH. NOW, AT ONE POINT, WE DID HEAR A DEPUTY SAY REPORTS OF SHOTS FIRED, WHICH DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING WAS CONFIRMED. AND IT COULD HAVE JUST BEEN A GUN WENT OFF AND NO ONE WAS ACTUALLY INJURED OR HURT. OR MAYBE IT DIDN’T HAPPEN AT ALL. DID YOU HEAR ANY GUNFIRE WHILE YOU WERE NEAR THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER? NO, THERE WAS A LOT OF RUNNING AND RUSHING, BUT THERE WERE NO GUNS. AND ONCE EVERYONE GOT PAST THE SECURITY GATE AND THERE WAS NOT EVEN BAGS OR PURCHASED ALLOWED, THEY WERE LEFT AT THE FRONT. SO THERE WAS NO WAY THERE WAS A GUN. AND I WAS IN THE MIX OF IT AND I DIDN’T HEAR A THING, JUST A LOT OF SCREAMING AND RUNNING BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE UPSET. SO IS THE CONCERT STILL GOING ON RIGHT NOW OR. YEAH, LOOKS LIKE IT’S STILL GOING ON. AND THEY JUST LEFT EVERYONE OUTSIDE AND TURNED ON THE ALARMS AND SAID, EVERYONE GO HOME. AND EVERYONE INSIDE IS JUST IF YOU RAN INSIDE AND YOU GOT INSIDE, YOU’RE A LUCKY ONE. EVERYONE ELSE IS JUST — OUT OF LUCK OUTSIDE AND THERE’S SOMETHING PLAYING ON THE LOUDSPEAKER AS WELL. YOU SAID, YEAH, THERE’S A RECORDING OF A LADY SAYING, PLEASE EXIT, LEAVE THE PREMISES, LEAVE THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER, AND EVERYONE’S CONFUSED BECAUSE AT ONE POINT DO WE GET IN, YOU KNOW? SO YEAH, HOPEFULLY WE’LL BE ABLE TO GET A REFUND AND GET YOUR MONEY BACK. I WANT TO WALK YOU ALL THROUGH AGAIN. THE PRESENCE THAT WE’RE SEEING HERE. WE’RE STILL SEEING THOSE FBI AGENTS HERE AS WELL. THEY HAD THEIR WEAPONS DRAWN WHEN I TALKED TO YOU ALL AT 10 P.M. WE’RE ALSO SEEING THE U.S. POSTAL POLICE SHERIFF’S OFFICE. OPSO IS HERE ALONG WITH NOPD. AND THIS IS JUST ONE ENTRANCE TO THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER. KIND OF APPROACHING CHAMPION SQUARE. BUT WE’RE STILL SEEING THAT INCREASED POLICE PRESENCE HERE. I WILL CONTINUE TO BRING YOU MORE UPDATES AS WE LEARN MORE, BUT FROM WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE, THERE WAS NO SHOTS FIRED. THAT WAS JUST A REPORT THAT A DEPUTY RECEIVED. SO IT HAD NOT BEEN CONFIRMED YET. IT SEEMS LIKE THERE WAS SOME SORT OF STAMPEDE THAT HAPPENED GOING INSIDE THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER, WHERE PEOPLE WHO PAID FOR THEIR TICKETS WERE NOT ABLE TO GO INSIDE, AND THERE WAS A LOUD ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE LOUDSPEAKER TELLING THEM THAT THEY HAD TO LEAVE THE PREMISES. MEANWHILE, THE CONCERT IS SUPPOSEDLY STILL GOING ON INSIDE THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER RIGHT NOW. WE’LL CONTINUE TO BRING YOU MORE UPDATES AS WE LEARN MORE ON THE SCENE HERE. REPORTING LIVE IN NEW ORLEANS TONIGHT I’M JASMINE FRANKLIN, WDSU NEWS. ALL RIGHT, JASMINE, WE’RE GOING TO KEEP IT ON THIS LIVE SHOT JUST FOR A SECOND WHILE I GO OVER WHAT WE JUST GOT FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT. SO NOPD SENT US AN EMAIL. JASMINE, CONFIRMING THAT THERE WERE REPORTS OF SHOTS FIRED, BUT THEY SAID NO SHOTS WERE FIRED. THERE WAS INDEED A COMMOTION. THEY SECURED THE PERIMETER. AND THAT’S WHAT YOU SAW WHEN YOU SAW THAT COMMOTION AND SAW OFFICERS RUSHING TO THE SCENE. THEY SAID THEY HEARD SHOTS OF IT, BUT NO INJURIES RIGHT NOW. AGAIN, LIKE YOU SAID, LOOKS LIKE IT’S A FALSE ALARM. BUT THERE WAS A COMMOTION WHERE SOME SORT OF A STAMPEDE AS THE BIG CROWD WAS TRYING TO GET INTO THE CONCERT. AND YOU HEARD FROM SOME OF THE PEOPLE JASMINE INTERVIEWED JUST THERE. THE CONCERT IS STILL GOING ON, BUT 400 OFFICERS ARE ON THE SCENE TO SECURE THIS AREA AND FOR SAFETY REASONS. SO THEY’RE VIGILANT. THEY’RE TAKING ALL PRECAUTIONS NECESSARY. AND ONCE AGAIN, THEY SAY REPORTS OF SHOTS FIRED, BUT NO INJURIES AND NO SHOTS WERE ACTUALLY FIRED. BUT THIS IS A LIVE LOOK ONCE AGAIN AT THE SCENE OUTSIDE OF THE NBA YOUNGBOY CONCERT DAY TWO OF THE CONCERT YESTERDAY, THERE WERE NO INCIDENTS, NO ARRESTS MADE YESTERDAY. BUT IT IS AN ALL HANDS ON DECK SITUATION AS THE NIGHT PROGRESSES. SO WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS SITUATION. AND AS SOON AS JASMINE HEARS OF ANY UPDATES OR DEVELOPMENTS, WE’LL MAKE SURE WE BRING THAT TO YOU LIVE ON AIR. AND A
Reports of shooting inside NBA YoungBoy concert deemed a false alarm
New Orleans police officers responded to reports of shots fired inside the Smoothie King Arena
Updated: 11:14 PM CDT Oct 20, 2025
New Orleans police officers responded to reports of shots fired inside the Smoothie King Arena.Officers secured the area inside of the arena and found the area was secure with no evidence of gunshot injuries. There is still a heavy police presence at the Smoothie King Arena, but the area is secure.NOPD released this statement: “Tonight, NOPD responded to reports of shots fired inside the Smoothie King Arena. At this time, there is no evidence of shots fired. Early indications are that this was a false alarm. Officers responded immediately and ensured the area was secure. No gunshot injuries have been reported at this time.An investigation is underway into what prompted the report. Please rely on official updates. If you saw anything concerning, contact NOPD or Crimestoppers.”
NEW ORLEANS —
New Orleans police officers responded to reports of shots fired inside the Smoothie King Arena.
Officers secured the area inside of the arena and found the area was secure with no evidence of gunshot injuries.
There is still a heavy police presence at the Smoothie King Arena, but the area is secure.
NOPD released this statement: “Tonight, NOPD responded to reports of shots fired inside the Smoothie King Arena. At this time, there is no evidence of shots fired. Early indications are that this was a false alarm. Officers responded immediately and ensured the area was secure. No gunshot injuries have been reported at this time.
An investigation is underway into what prompted the report. Please rely on official updates. If you saw anything concerning, contact NOPD or Crimestoppers.”