UK police seek to question 2 men over Oxford Circus panic

Oxford Circus tube station building, on Oxford Street. Once the Bakerloo railway building. (Photo By Sunil060902 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

LONDON — British police want to question two men who may have sparked a panic when they had an altercation on a busy subway platform at the heart of London’s Oxford Street shopping district.

British Transport Police released photos of the two men on Friday night and appealed for information about the incident.

Panic spread quickly near the Oxford Circus subway station Friday after apparently erroneous reports of gunshots. But police said after evacuating two subway stations that there were no indications that any shots had been fired.

Police initially treated the reported gunfire as a terrorist incident and social media was filled with alarming false reports about shooting at several locations.

Some people were injured in the stampede away from the subway station.

Major stores planned to open as usual Saturday.