An anti-gun protest descended into chaos after a man appeared to storm the stage during a moment of silence marking the Uvalde, Texas school shooting.
The man allegedly threw an object into the crowd at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington DC and screamed “I am the gun,” as he was detained.
People were seen cowering on the floor or running away during the chaos that lasted only a short time.
One speaker, Erica Ford, with the New York City Crisis Management System yelled into the crowd, “do not run,” WUSA reports.
Speakers on the stage later assured the crowd that the man was not armed and they were not in danger.
The incident happened on the National Mall.
The man was identified by Park Police as a pro-gun demonstrator, who also confirmed no weapons were found.
He was escorted away from the rally and detained, while the rally continued.
The Sun spoke with United States Park Police PIO Officer Sergeant Thomas Twiname, who says the incident happened at the National Monument and that an investigation is ongoing.
Thousands turned up at the National Mall, including protesters, survivors, and activists.
According to the National Park Service, at least 50,000 people were expected to attend the event.
March for Our Lives is known as a popular student-led movement that is fighting for gun control legislation and common-sense gun law.
Hundreds of marches and rallies were slated to take place, including in New York City, Milwaukee, Orlando, and Los Angeles.
Speakers at the events across the nation include shooting victims and their parents, such as Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
During his speech, Oliver said: “Our elected officials betrayed us and have avoided the responsibility to end gun violence.”
The plea for action comes after a number of recent shootings have taken place across the US states such as Texas, New York, Maryland, and Oklahoma.
The movement’s first demonstration occurred in Washington DC on March 24, 2018, following the deadly school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
The latest rally was announced just days after the shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, where 19 young children and two teachers were killed when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle.
The House voted 223-204 to pass a wide-ranging package of gun control legislation called the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” after lawmakers faced intense pressure to act in the wake of the recent mass shootings in New York and Texas.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission.
