Braves say false alarm caused by equipment malfunction

(Courtesy: BrandON Miltsch / Twitter)

ATLANTA (AP) - The Atlanta Braves said an equipment malfunction was the source of confusion in the top of the third inning Tuesday night when an emergency alarm sounded in the ballpark and a disturbing message was posted on the scoreboard.

With Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen batting against Braves pitcher R.A. Dickey, the alarm blared for about 5 seconds and a message stated that an emergency had been reported in the building and that an evacuation was taking place.

It turned out to be a false alarm.

Dickey paused for a couple of seconds to make his next pitch, but the umpires did not stop play, and the game continued without interruption. The Braves tweeted in the fourth that "everything is operating normally" and "we apologize for the inconvenience."

An apparent altercation with fans in one of the ballpark restaurants caused the alarm to get sounded.

A statement from the Cobb County Police Department said that "there never was a security issue or an evacuation of the park. There was a situation in the Chophouse, but it was quickly handled. Again, there is no public safety threat at this time."

This is the Braves' first season at SunTrust Park.

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