Watch: Bull runs into rodeo crowd after escaping from pen at Florida State Fairgrounds

TAMPA, Fla. - A crowd at a rodeo at the Florida State Fairgrounds got a lot closer to the action than they bargained for this weekend.

Christopher Thornton, who was attending his very first rodeo, said a bull had just been moved into a chute when it broke through the side and leaped toward the audience in the stands.

"Everyone was rushing, the parents were grabbing their kids. People were jumping over the chairs," Thornton recalled. "The first thing in my head said to record it. I couldn't believe this was happening at my first rodeo!" 

Thornton recorded video of the incident that happened on Saturday, August 27. Video from the incident shows the bull running around the stadium as a person over a loudspeaker tells screaming guests to stay calm. 

A handler on horseback was able to quickly rope in the bull from the other side of the fence and bring him back to the arena. 

"Everyone just started clapping," Thornton said. "Honestly, if he wasn't able to catch the bull, more chaos would've definitely happened."

No one in the stands was hurt during the incident. The rodeo was put on by Gus Trent Horse Ranch.

FOX 13 did reach out to organizers, but they declined to comment. The Florida State Fairgrounds has not responded to a request for comment.