Panic ensued Tuesday night in Times Square after a backfiring motorcycle was mistaken for a possible mass shooting, according to CBS News, which reported that the bike was traveling with a large group of motorcycles at the time.

WATCH: Chaos ensues in Times Square after crowd mistakes backfiring motorcycle for mass shooter Tuesday night https://t.co/vDxBrAHoJA pic.twitter.com/KUqiEeixyN — CBS News (@CBSNews) August 7, 2019

...in the wake of the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, chaos ensued as people raced to escape what they thought could be an active shooter carrying out another attack. Some witnesses called it a stampede. CBS New York said people were literally running out of their shoes, dropping their bags, jumping over counters, even trampling those who couldn't keep up. Lots of children were crying. -CBS News

"There were shoes everywhere," one man told CBS New York, while a woman said she was "praying this wasn't the end."

There is no #ActiveShooter in #TimesSquare. Motorcycles backfiring while passing through sounded like gun shots.



We are recieving multiple 911 calls. Please don’t panic. The Times Square area is very safe! @NYPDnews @NYPDTimesSquare — NYPD Midtown North (@NYPDMTN) August 7, 2019

The editor of China's CCP-owned Global Times said that the mass shootings in America are a "human rights catastrophe," adding "Where is the US govt? Are US politicians attacking human rights in other countries to divert attention from their own failure to perform duty?"