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NYS Fair closes early Sunday after unfounded reports of gunfire

Ellen Abbott
/
WRVO News

The New York State Fair closed early Sunday night, after reports of gunfire that turned out to be false, State police said.

In a statement, State Police say a call was made to 911 at 8:38 p.m. from someone who reported hearing gunshots between the Midway and Suburban Park stage, where rapper Rick Ross was performing. Another call was made at 8:41 p.m. reporting gunshots near The Eatery. Police rushed to both areas but found no evidence of any gunshots or injuries.

The incident spread quickly on social media, causing hundreds of people to run for the exits. As a result, State Police say “after consulting with Fair officials, the decision was made to close the Fair early Sunday night.” The Fair is usually open until 11 p.m. each night.

State Fair officials said in a statement that the Fair “is continuing to work with law enforcement” to investigate the incident, but say the final day of the fair will reopen as scheduled at 9 a.m. Monday.

Jason has served as WRVO's news director in some capacity since August 2017. As news director, Jason produces hourly newscasts, and helps direct local news coverage and special programming. Before that, Jason hosted Morning Edition on WRVO from 2009-2019. Jason came to WRVO in January of 2008 as a producer/reporter. Before that, he spent two years as an anchor/reporter at WSYR Radio in Syracuse.