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Business Wire
a day ago
- Sport
- Business Wire
Victims of Chaotic Crowd Stampede at Dallas Cheer Competition File Lawsuit
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lawyers representing hundreds of people who were injured during a chaotic crowd stampede at a March cheerleading competition in Dallas have sued the organizer, Varsity Spirit, and facility management saying they failed to provide proper security at the event. In their court filing, the attorneys say those failures led to parents and children being trampled and suffering broken bones, concussions, brain bleeds, and other physical injuries when participants and attendees went running from the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, following reports of gunshots being fired. Many others, including children, continue to suffer from the emotional trauma they endured. 'This wasn't a little something. This was mass chaos,' said Ashlea Schwarz of Paul LLP in Kansas City, Mo., who represents the victims. 'You had parents separated from their kids for hours. You had a facility that had no plan for reunification in place. People had no idea where they would go to find their children.' Video of attorney Ashlea Schwarz and victim Rachel Meyer 'It was pure chaos,' said Rachel Meyer of St. Louis, who attended the event along with her 9-year-old daughter. 'Nobody knew what was happening. Everybody was screaming, looking every way. There were people pushing other people. And the pure panic in everybody's voices – that's something I'll never forget.' Records show there were approximately 25,000 participants – most under the age of 18 – who attended the 2025 National Cheerleaders Association All-Star National Championship event, from Feb. 28 to March 2. An estimated 38,000 spectators attended. Police and event officials have said the crowd crush was ignited by the sound of metal poles crashing to the concrete floor of the convention center following a fight between two parents. 'It really doesn't matter what started the panic,' said Charla Aldous of Dallas-based Aldous Law. 'What matters is the chaos and crowd crush happened because Varsity and the convention center were not prepared. And that resulted in the injuries these people suffered.' The lawsuit details injuries suffered by attendees from Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. They include a woman knocked unconscious during the stampede who suffered a series of brain bleeds; a mother who was slammed face-first into the concrete and was so severely hurt that her young daughter thought her mom had been fatally shot; and an event participant suffering from a concussion who sheltered alone under tractor-trailers outside the convention center. Varsity Brands is the parent company of Varsity Spirit, and is headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas. The lawsuit is Albold, et al. v. Varsity Spirit LLC et al., No. CC-25-04400-C in Dallas County Court at Law No. 3. About Paul LLP Paul LLP is a Kansas City, Missouri-based trial firm focused on complex commercial and consumer litigation involving the prosecution of class and mass actions, frequently leading multi-faceted, nationwide teams of co-counsel in complex litigation. Learn more about the firm at About Aldous Law Aldous Law specializes in high-stakes personal injury litigation, including wrongful death, trucking collisions, medical malpractice, products liability and sexual assault cases. Learn more about the Dallas-based firm at
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Yahoo
Fargo athletes and families caught up in shooting scare at cheer competition in Texas
Mar. 2—DALLAS — Cheer athletes and their families from the Fargo area attending a national competition in Texas over the weekend got caught up in a scare over a possible active shooter. The incident happened at the National Cheerleaders Association All-Star National Championship in Dallas, an event featuring more than 1,700 teams from across the country, on Saturday, March 1. Ultimately, it was not a shooting but a fight among two parents that led to a massive police response at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, local media reported. During the fight, multiple large poles were knocked down, creating loud noises and sparking chaos among the crowds that had gathered. Katie Brown, 13, of Fargo, was with her parents getting ready to compete for North Dakota Elite, a cheer club in Fargo. "I didn't know that there wasn't a shooter, because I felt like I could actually hear the shots," she told The Forum. Chad Brown said he, his wife and daughter had only been in the convention center for about 15 minutes early Saturday afternoon and were standing in a public area with Katie and a friend, tending to her hair before her competition. Suddenly, the family turned around to see people running and wondered if they were rushing to meet a famous person at the competition. "Then you can hear the screaming and you can hear the yelling, and you know it's not a good thing," Chad Brown said. He said around that same time, a person in the crowd might have had a seizure. "Somebody might have yelled 'seizure' out loud and people maybe heard 'shooter.' That's when everybody just got up, got caught up in the panic, and just started running," he said. The family got separated for a while, but Katie and her friend managed to stay together. "We ran through this disgusting muddy field with our white cheer shoes. We were both separated from our parents. I was the older one, so I just took care of her, I guess," Katie Brown said. Her parents used Life 360 and an air tag attached to their daughter's cheer bag to track her down in 20 to 25 minutes at a parking lot where some attendees had gathered. "Just being able to get connected to her was really all that mattered," Chad Brown said. Mary Anderson, of Fargo, daughter Ava, 11, and one of Ava's friends were also among the crowd at the convention center Saturday afternoon in Dallas. Ava Anderson also trains at North Dakota Elite but was not competing this weekend. Instead, she was there to get inspired by the older, higher level athletes taking part. They had just gotten to their seats and watched one team perform when Anderson got an ominous message. "I got a text message from her friend's mom that said active shooter, hide. I grabbed the girls," Anderson said. They rushed to a closed section of the arena and found a men's bathroom to hide in. Eventually, they could hear police and security officers on walkie-talkies, who escorted the three out and into a large room. There, Anderson grabbed folding chairs and put them over the girls as a protective measure and anxiously waited. When they were able to leave the convention center, they saw people who'd been hurt from being trampled. Local police said ten people were taken to hospitals for injuries ranging from bruises to fractures. The cheer competition was shut down as soon as the incident began and it wasn't until later Saturday it was determined it would resume Sunday morning. Anderson had nothing but praise for the coaches of North Dakota Elite, who determined they would compete on Sunday. Some teams elected to pull out of the competition. "I could not be more proud of how they talked through things. They did everything they could do, and really took into consideration everybody's feelings," Anderson said. When Katie Brown went back to the convention center with her North Dakota Elite teammates Sunday morning, she said it was an "almost traumatic" area to be in. That feeling, however, quickly faded. "I feel like competing made it better. It made it less scary," she said.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ozarks teams safe after shooting fears lead to evacuations at cheerleading championship
DALLAS — Multiple competitive cheerleading teams from the Ozarks were at the National Cheerleaders Association All-Star National Championship in Dallas, Texas when fears of a shooting led to injuries and evacuations. The Dallas Police Department says they were called to the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center — where the cheerleading championship was taking place — for reports of an active shooter at about 1 p.m. Police later determined that there was no active shooter. A preliminary investigation into the incident by Dallas police found that a fight between two people caused multiple poles to be knocked down. The poles made a loud noise when they fell over, leading to panic and a stampede as visitors rushed outside. CBS News Texas says around 58,000 people were expected at the event, including athletes and coaches. Ozark Empire Fairgrounds hosts 36th annual mega RV show in Springfield DPD says there were multiple non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident, and Dallas Fire-Rescue says 10 people were transported to the hospital. A family reunification center was set up on 400 Lamar Street. Multiple competitive cheer teams in the Ozarks were at the competition, including Icon Cheer in Springfield, Summit Atheltix in Ozark, Gold Medal Gems All-Star Cheer in Republic and more. Facebook posts from Summit Athletix and Gold Medal Gems reassured fans that everyone on their teams was okay. Security officials with the National Cheerleaders Association are assisting police in investigating the incident, according to CBS News Texas. The cheerleading championship is expected to continue on Sunday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fight inside Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center causes chaos, suspension of NCA cheer event
The Brief A fight between two people during a cheerleading event in downtown Dallas led to panic and the evacuation of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Dallas police said the two people knocked over poles that created a loud noise and there were multiple non-life-threatening injuries as people ran from the event. The National Cheerleaders Association canceled the rest of Saturday's events. DALLAS - Two people knocked over "multiple poles" during a fight causing a loud noise and panic inside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Saturday afternoon, Dallas police said. What we know The convention center is hosting the NCA All-Star National Championship this weekend. In a statement, Dallas police said the noise of the poles being knocked down caused a panic inside the building and people to start rushing outside "in a stampede." Authorities said no shooting occurred. Video sent to FOX 4 shows several people running from the area. The rush of people caused multiple non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the chaos, police said. Dallas police set up a family reunification center at 400 Lamar Street. The incident prompted the National Cheerleaders Association to cancel the rest of Saturday's event. What they're saying Varsity Brands, the company behind the NCA, released the following statement about the incident: "Earlier today, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center was evacuated as a precaution based on reports of a safety concern. NCA security officials immediately began working with the Dallas Police Department to quickly investigate, which found that the incident was triggered by an altercation between two attendees, which led to panic and multiple non-life-threatening injuries in the aftermath. We want to thank the Dallas Police Department for their help assessing and controlling the situation as well as the first responders who assisted those impacted. "As a precaution, we suspended activities for today and will continue to work with event staff and local authorities to ensure a safe environment for our athletes to finish competing when we resume tomorrow." What we don't know Police have not said if anyone was arrested for the fight. The NCA has not announced a revised schedule for the events that were canceled Saturday afternoon. 3:41 p.m. - Dallas police said a fight between two people led to poles being knocked down and a panic inside the convention center. They said multiple people were hurt during the chaos but none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening. 2:45 p.m. - DART is resuming normal train operations. They're warning of possible delays to the regular schedule. 2:35 p.m. - Dallas Police confirmed there is no active shooter at the convention center. 2:15 p.m. - The National Cheerleaders Association says competition has been suspended for the rest of the day. DART says that passengers may experience delays due to police activity in the area. This is a developing story. Check back with FOX 4 for updates. The Source Information on the the incident at the convention center came from Dallas police. Information on the cancelation of Saturday's events came from the Nation Cheerleaders Association.
CBS News
01-03-2025
- CBS News
Dallas police evacuate Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center during national cheerleading competition
An incident led to a heavy police presence outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Saturday. The situation unfolded during the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) All-Star National Championship, which began on Friday and is scheduled to conclude on Sunday at the venue. Dallas police confirmed on X that they are investigating an incident near the Omni Hotel and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. They advised the public to avoid the area. A family reunification center has been set up at Dallas Police Headquarters, located at 1400 Botham Jean Boulevard, police said. Brian Bianco, Senior Director of Strategic Communications for Varsity Brands, confirmed to CBS News Texas that NCA security officials are working closely with law enforcement to investigate the incident. "The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has been evacuated as a precaution based on reports of a safety concern," Bianco said. "As a precaution, we have suspended activities for today and will continue to work with event staff and local authorities to ensure a safe environment when we resume the event."
