{"id":25400,"date":"2023-03-07T13:50:54","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T13:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/03\/07\/two-fans-die-in-stampede-after-us-rap-concert\/"},"modified":"2023-03-07T13:50:54","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T13:50:54","slug":"two-fans-die-in-stampede-after-us-rap-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/03\/07\/two-fans-die-in-stampede-after-us-rap-concert\/","title":{"rendered":"Two fans die in stampede after US rap concert"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Two people died and eight were injured in a stampede after a concert by rapper GloRilla in Rochester, New York.<\/p>\n

Authorities say the crush may have been triggered when audience members mistakenly thought they heard gunshots.<\/p>\n

However, there was \u201cno evidence to support a shooting having occurred\u201d, Rochester police lieutenant Nicholas Adams told ABC News.<\/p>\n

GloRilla, who had finished performing before the incident, said she was \u201cdevastated and heartbroken\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Memphis musician, whose song F.N.F. (Let\u2019s Go) was nominated for best rap performance at last month\u2019s Grammy Awards, said she did not hear about the stampede until she left the venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy fans mean the world to me,\u201d\u00a0she wrote on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPraying for their families and for a speedy recovery of everyone affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

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I am devastated & heartbroken over the tragic deaths that happened after Sunday\u2019s show. My fans mean the world to me \ud83d\ude22praying for their families & for a speedy recovery of everyone affected \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffd<\/p>\n

\u2014 GloRilla \ud83e\udd8d (@GloTheofficial) March 7, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Police said the stampede began shortly after the concert ended at the Armory venue on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs people began to exit, the crowd began to surge and rush toward the exit,\u201d said police chief David M Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some reports that shots were heard, causing the crowd to panic, but that has not been confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The police department added in a statement: \u201cWe are hearing many reports of potential causes, including crowd size, shots fired, pepper spray and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreliminary reports from people at the scene indicate that these injuries were caused from being trampled. We do not have any evidence of gunshots being fired or anyone being shot or stabbed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police found three badly injured women inside the auditorium. One, Rhondesia Belton, 33, from nearby Buffalo, died in hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer family, friends, and colleagues are devastated and left to mourn this tragic loss,\u201d Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.<\/p>\n

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She tragically lost her life yesterday while attending a concert in Rochester. Her family, friends, and colleagues are devastated and left to mourn this tragic loss. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com\/7l6kjVwafB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Byron W. Brown (@MayorByronBrown) March 7, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Rochester Police announced the death of a second woman, aged 35, late on Monday. Her name has not been released.<\/p>\n

Another woman remains in critical condition with significant injuries. Seven other people are being treated for injuries that are not life-threatening.<\/p>\n

\u2018You got to get up\u2019<\/h2>\n

On Monday, Rochester news station WHEC-TV\u00a0interviewed fans\u00a0as they returned to retrieve personal belongings they had lost in the chaos.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and the girl next to me were climbing on each other trying to get each other up,\u201d said Ikea Hayes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was watching the life flash before my eyes and I still didn\u2019t know what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she remembered praying and telling herself, \u201cYou got to get up. You got to move. If you stay here they\u2019re going to keep running you over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Security guard Anthony Rouse told WHEC-TV he had signed up to work at the concert when he learned his daughter was going.<\/p>\n

She was hurt in the rush to the exits and spent part of Monday in hospital, he said. \u201cThe whole reason I signed on was to protect her,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rochester Mayor Malik D Evans said in a news conference that the stampede was a \u201ctragedy of epic proportions\u201d.<\/p>\n

An investigation has begun into whether the venue\u2019s owners had followed the required safety measures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go to a concert, you do not expect to be trampled,\u201d he said. \u201cYour loved ones expect you to be able to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The tragedy comes three months after a deadly crush outside a concert by Afrobeats star Asake at Brixton Academy in London.<\/p>\n

Two people died and several more were injured after a large number of people tried to enter the venue.<\/p>\n

In November 2021, ten concertgoers were killed after panic broke out at the Astroworld music festi in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n

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