Model Behavior? Auditions Cancelled by Cops after Multiple Injuries, Arrests

NEW YORK (AP/1010 WINS)  -- Three people were arrested and six others hurt after bedlam broke out while they waited to audition for "America's Next Top Model'' Saturday, police said.


Terry Sheridan Reports

Police didn't know what prompted the chaos involving hundreds of people outside the Park Central New York hotel. The panic left the midtown street outside the hotel littered with the would-be models' shoes and clothing, according to news reports.

An organizer at the hotel told 1010 WINS the crowd was just being "enthusiastic" after police were called in to cope with tense contestants pushing and shoving and cutting the line.
 
Witnesses tell 1010 WINS that the panic started when a car pulled up outside the building that was smoking and possibly leaking gasoline. Someone yelled "fire" and that led to a stampede that led to some of the trampling.

At that point witnesses say they heard someone yell out that someone has a gun leading to more chaos. Police arrived shortly there after and cancelled that auditions.

The producers of the show left the building using a side exit.

Two women and a man were arrested on disorderly conduct charges, police said. Authorities also shut down the audition, saying it wasn't properly organized.

Four injured people declined treatment, while two others were taken to a hospital, the fire department said. Their conditions weren't immediately available.

The hotel's phone rang unanswered. Representatives for The CW Network, which airs the reality show, didn't immediately return telephone calls.

The popular reality show is hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks, who also serves as its executive producer. The current season began March 4.

Her agent and publicist didn't immediately return telephone calls.

Banks has said she created the show to counter stereotypes about beauty, and Saturday's auditions were open only to women no taller than 5-foot-7, shorter than the industry's conventions.

Open tryouts also are being held this month in several other cities around the country, including Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles.

 An organizer at the hotel told 1010 WINS the crowd was just being "enthusiastic" after police were called in to cope with tense contestants pushing and shoving and cutting the line.
 
Witnesses tell 1010 WINS that the panic started when a car pulled up outside the building that was smoking and possibly leaking gasoline. Someone yelled "fire" and that led to a stampede that led to some of the trampling.

At that point witnesses say they heard someone yell out that someone has a gun leading to more chaos. Police arrived shortly there after and cancelled that auditions.

The producers of the show left the building using a side exit.