‘Scary’: Sask. cheer teams shook by false active shooter alert at Texas competition

WATCH: Three Sask. Cheerleading teams are on their way home after an evacuation order halted competition at a Texas championship.

Three Saskatchewan cheerleading teams are on their way home following some tense moments at a Texas cheer competition where thousands of people were evacuated because of an active shooter alert.

For the 3,000 teams and family involved in the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) All Star National Championship, being told there was an active shooter at the event on Saturday sent people pouring out of the downtown convention centre in Dallas and into the streets.

They quickly discovered the evacuation was caused by unruly parents fighting and knocking over some poles in the venue, which sounded like gunfire.

Teams from Saskatoon and Warman were at the event — the largest cheer competition in the world — but they were not in the venue when this happened.

The Regina Rebels Cheerleading team was in the venue at the time, and got out safely.

There were multiple non-life-threatening injuries reported, caused by the large crowds rushing out of the building.

The Warman team was practicing at another location at the time.

“It was pretty scary but before we found out. I could tell something was wrong. I didn’t know what it was and not expecting like that to be what was happening. It was just, like, really shocking and scary,” said Warman team member Jilayna Carter, in a zoom interview from Pearson International Airport in Toronto, on her way home.

The owner and coach with Warman Ultimate Cheerleading says their protocols were quickly put into place when the original alert went out. The safety of the team was paramount, as was communicating with athletes and parents who weren’t with the team at the time.

“They’re always to be wearing team clothing, so we know that’s what they’re wearing. That’s the rule at all times, whether we’re in a mall or anywhere. We also travel in groups,” said Leslie Stevenson, owner and coach of the Warman club.

They have attended this event in the past, but they admit a potential shooting was concerning.

“In Canada that doesn’t happen as much and it’s just, like, very shocking to be around that” Carter said.

The team was given a vote and determined they would not take part in the second round of competition on Sunday.

“It was disappointing that we couldn’t do second run, but I was happy that we could do our first run. I was glad that, like, all of the athletes got their own opinion on what we wanted to do.”

Warman Ultimate Cheerleading is preparing for a local competition this weekend and doesn’t anticipate making any changes as a result.

“We have the SCA cheer association making sure that they have reminders for parents of the code of conduct, and the athlete’s code of conduct,” Stevenson said.

Perspective for everyone involved whether that’s athletes or spectators, is key according to Carter.

“Parents just have to remember that, they’re kids and they’re just trying to do what they love and have fun doing it.”