A crowd stampede at a GloRilla and Finesse2Tymes show in Rochester, New York, has killed two people and injured a number of others. Associated Press reports that the surge was potentially caused by people panicking after believing they heard gunshots.
The incident occurred just after 11pm at Rochester’s Main Street Armory on Sunday night (5th March), with the crowd surging towards the exits following the performances of GloRilla and Finesse2Tymes. “We do not have any evidence of gunshots being fired or of anyone being shot or stabbed at the scene,” Police Chief David M. Smith told reporters on Monday.
Two Women Die Following Stampede
The deaths of two women were announced following the incident: 33-year-old Rhondesia Belton and a 35-year-old woman who wasn’t named publicly by authorities. Another person remains in a critical condition in hospital, while others were treated with non-critical injuries.
“This is a tragedy of epic proportions,” said Rochester mayor Malik Evans, adding that the incident was “totally unacceptable”. “We are going to hold people accountable for what happened last night, period… I intend to get to the bottom of this.”
GloRilla addressed the incident in a tweet on Monday, writing that she was “praying everybody is ok”.
Fatal crowd surges at concerts and public events are not a new phenomenon. In recent years there have been a number of deadly incidents, including Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in Houston in 2021, in which 10 people died. In October 2022, more than 150 people died in South Korea after a crowd crush on Halloween in the Seoul suburb of Itaewon.
Further Reading
Travis Scott Set To Return To Festival Stages For First Time Since Astroworld Tragedy
Travis Scott Stops 4th of July Show For Crowd Safety Reasons
US Congress Launch Bipartisan Investigation Into Astroworld Tragedy
