**Fact-Check: Viral Video Claims San Diego Mass Shooting at "Taco Tuesday" Event Was a "False Flag"**
Fact-Check: Viral Video Claims San Diego Mass Shooting at “Taco Tuesday” Event Was a “False Flag”
Rumor: A video going viral on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) claims that a mass shooting that occurred at a popular “Taco Tuesday” block party in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter was a “crisis actor event” or a “false flag” designed to push stricter gun control laws. The video alleges that “first responders were seen laughing” and that “no real injuries” were reported, pointing to a lack of local news coverage as “proof.”
Reality: This is FALSE.
Fact-Check Details:
No Such Event Occurred: The San Diego Police Department has confirmed that no mass shooting or “Taco Tuesday” block party shooting incident took place in the Gaslamp Quarter on the date referenced in the video (which was alleged to be March 11, 2025). There are no police reports, hospital admittance logs, or news releases matching the described event.
Misidentified Footage: The video circulating is actually repurposed news footage from a drill exercise held by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department in January 2025. The “laughing first responders” were paramedics conducting a debriefing after a simulated mass casualty training session. No victims were real.
No Local News Blackout: The claim that “local news won’t cover it” is a common conspiracy trope. Multiple legitimate news outlets, including The San Diego Union-Tribune and local station KGTV, have run stories clarifying the drill footage was mislabeled. The original viral clip was posted by a known “prankster” account that frequently creates fictional emergency scenarios for engagement.
Verdict: FAKE. This is a deliberate hoax recycling old training footage to spread misinformation about gun violence and