At a Glorilla gig in Rochester, New York, on Saturday Night (March 4th), a stampede broke out in the crowd, leaving two people dead and eight others injured.
The incident occurred around 11pm local time at the Main Street Armory, as fans were leaving the venue. Police told Associated Press that panic spread in the crowd after people believed they had heard gunshots, which prompted a rush towards the exit.
However, Police Chief David M. Smith explained at a news briefing Monday: “We do not have any evidence of gunshots being fired or of anyone being shot or stabbed at the scene”. Additionally, none of the victims’ injuries are consistent with gunshot wounds.
Attendee Ikea Hayes returned to Main Street Armory on Monday to pick up the belongings she had left. “I was watching my life flash before my eyes, and I still didn’t even know what was going on,” she explained to Rochester TV station WHEC. She recalled lying “on the ground, just scared, praying, like, you got to get up, you got to move. If you stay here, they’re going to keep running you over. So, you got to get up. You got to move.”
Police found three women badly injured at the scene. A 33-year-old woman, Rhondesia Belton, was the first casualty of the crush. Then, late on Monday night, Rochester Police announced the death of another woman, a 35-year-old who is yet to be named. The third of these victims remains in a critical condition, with seven additional people treated for none life-threatening injuries.
Writing about the crush, Glorilla said on Twitter: “I’m just now hearing about what happened wtf praying everybody is ok”.
The performance follows Glorilla’s appearance at the 2023 Grammys last month. She participated in the all-star celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary alongside the likes of Ice-T, Queen Latifah and LL Cool J.
