A Friday night performance of the musical Hamilton at SHN's Orpheum Theater descended into chaos during the second act when a medical emergency in the audience created a mass panic.
As CBS San Francisco reports, a female audience member was suffering a heart attack, and some other audience member or members mistakenly believed she had been shot. The incident occurred just after the character of Alexander Hamilton is shot in the show, as an audience member tells CNN.
A tweet from SHN suggests that an audience member pulled the theater's fire alarm, adding to the chaos.
During a medical event at the SHN Orpheum Theatre this evening an audience member activated the theater's fire pull station. The audience and cast followed the life/safety system's automatic announcement and exited the theater.
— SHN: Broadway in San Francisco (@shnsf) February 16, 2019
Panicked theatergoers then began taking cover and trying to flee the theater in a hurry, resulting in several injuries — one woman can be seen limping out of the theater in the CNN footage, and the SFPD reported on Twitter that three adults were injured, including one who suffered a broken leg.
The woman experiencing the medical emergency was taken to the hospital and is reportedly in critical condition.
The cast of the show evacuated the building, following the automatic announcement from the fire alarm, and a tweet below shows audience members giving them some belated curtain-call applause in the rain, in UN Plaza.
Undetermined panic at Hamilton showing at Orpheum in San Francisco. Panic in running out of theater. @nbcbayarea @KGOdesk pic.twitter.com/VNLfg3e8t3
— G Morishige (@gmorishige) February 16, 2019
ICYMI: Video shows #Hamilton cast walking back into the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco after what turned out to be a medical emergency sent everyone out of the building. Full story: https://t.co/IrNwuKjKHA
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) February 16, 2019
[🎥: @sam1sf ] pic.twitter.com/5QZxpDGcqC
Police respond to Orpheum in San Francisco after someone in audience had a seizure and someone started screaming. Led to panic and people running out of theater. Hamilton cast ran backstage. My daughter and I hid on ground behind seats til police cleared us. Scary moments. pic.twitter.com/ehWHtR03Xy
— Marianne Favro (@mariannefavro) February 16, 2019
The wildly popular musical #Hamilton ended in chaos Friday night in San Francisco's Orpheum Theater. What audience members thought was an active shooter ended up being a medical emergency, officials said. https://t.co/wY6qMhJ3vE pic.twitter.com/poarC42xkt
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) February 16, 2019