I doubt they were using live ammo in a civilian area.
I think it's just the lighting--the beret on the guy at the near end of the front row also looks darker than the others. Maybe it's just my imagination, but the guy at the near end of the back row looks like he's about to bust out laughing after that AD...Did anyone but me notice that his beret is a darker green than all the others?
People don't always react when they hear a firearm discharge unexpectedly at close range; it can be a stunning experience (quite literally).even the spectators in the background did not react.....as I would have.....l would have at least looked at the spectator next to me and said holy sh1t...did you see that...It has to be staged or some sort of initiation that everyone expected?
Given that they fire the rifles into the air and the last thing you see them do is grab the charging handles on their rifles to clear the breeches, I'd say they were almost certainly firing blanks--but at that range, a blank from a rifle can certainly ruin your day. Blanks don't have the range of "live" ammo, but they can be deadly at close range; just ask actor Jon-Erik Hexum about that. Oh, wait, you can't--he fatally shot himself in the head with a blank while goofing off...even wadded up paper in a revolver is enough to pop balloons from a few feet without a bullet.
i reckon a blank from a rifle could prolly knock someone's loose hat off.