Unfounded reports of a shooting at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York prompted a massive police response and panicked social media postings from travelers on Sunday night.
The FDNY received a call shortly after 9:30 p.m. local time about an alleged shooting and the NYPD responded with a heavy police presence.
In a statement sent late Sunday, the Port Authority said it could not confirm that any shots were fired.
“This apparently was near the departures area,” Port authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo told The New York Times. “There are no reported injuries or arrests at this time, we have no actual confirmation of shots fired.”
The NYPD also confirmed early Monday that there were no shots fired and the airport would resume normal operations shortly after midnight.
Several flights were grounded in response to the incident, The Associated Press reported.
The Port Authority also evacuated Terminal 8 as a precaution and Terminal 1 was closed about 45 minutes later amid additional calls of more shots fired, which were unconfirmed. Sections of a major highway running near the airport were also closed.
Social media postings showed chaos at the airport as travelers were confined to security areas or asked to leave terminals.
Dan Archer, a journalist who was at JFK during the incident, tweeted a photo of the scene at the airport shortly before the evacuation. In an email, Archer said he was still waiting outside Terminal 8 shortly before midnight for authorities to give an all clear.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.