Base jumpers leap from Nashville's Grand Hyatt hotel rooftop bar, sparking 'mass panic'

Two base jumpers leapt from the outdoor rooftop bar of the Grand Hyatt Nashville on Jan. 1, causing "mass panic" among the bar patrons who witnessed the ordeal, according to police.

Nashville resident Amanda Bagley was having a New Year's reunion with friends at the rooftop lounge "when a couple guys base jumped off the roof," she wrote on Facebook, sharing a now-viral video of her shock at seeing the men walk straight to the roof's ledge and leap off.

Staff members tried to stop the men from jumping, but their calls went unheeded.

"They had all the gear and just brazenly walked out there like they knew what they were doing," Bagley told Nashville's WSMV TV. "I would be lying if (I said) I wasn’t experiencing some trauma. There was staff shouting that you can’t do that."

Nashville's WKRN cited a Nashville Metro Police report stating the base jumping incident caused "mass panic" for bar patrons. No arrests have been made.

Hyatt hotels confirmed the incident in a statement to WKRN, saying the men were staying at the hotel. The men have been banned.

"We can confirm that an isolated situation occurred in the early evening on January 1, 2021, at Grand Hyatt Nashville involving two guests of the hotel. Two guests wearing parachutes jumped to the street level from the hotel’s rooftop lounge," the statement said. "The hotel immediately engaged local authorities, and the guests were subsequently evicted and banned from the hotel. We vehemently condemn this kind of reckless behavior."

USA TODAY has reached out to Nashville Police and Hyatt hotels for further comment.

Bagley also witnessed and chronicled the Christmas Day explosion in downtown Nashville. "Woke up to an insane explosion downtown Nashville, shook our building ... cars on fire in the street," she wrote on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Base jumpers shock Nashville Grand Hyatt guests, jump from rooftop bar