Third Person Dead From Crowd Surge In Rochester

Topline

Three people have died from a crowd surge Sunday night at a GloRilla concert in Rochester, New York, local officials confirmed Thursday, as investigators continue to examine the cause of the deadly stampede that left seven other people injured.

Key Facts

A 35-year-old concertgoer was the third person to die as a result of the stampede, police announced, confirming the woman, named Aisha Stephens, passed away at a Rochester area hospital where she had been taken in critical condition.

Haskins’ death follows the deaths of 33-year-old Rhondesia Belton and Brandy Miller, 35, who also died in the crowd surge.

Police believe the stampede started as people at the show believed they heard gunfire inside the venue and started rushing to the exits as the concert was wrapping up around 11 p.m. Sunday night, though police later confirmed no shots had been fired.

Crucial Quote

In a post on Twitter, GloRilla said she had learned about the crowd surge roughly an hour after police said it started, and said she was “devastated & heartbroken over the tragic deaths that happened after Sunday’s show,” adding: “My fans mean the world to me. Praying for their families & for a speedy recovery of everyone affected.”

Key Background

Preliminary reports indicated one person had died and two more were in critical condition “fighting for their lives” after being trampled as concertgoers surged toward the exit doors following the concert, Rochester Police Chief David Smith said in a press conference Monday. Ikea Hayes, a concertgoer who survived the stampede, told local station WHEC she remembered “watching the life flash before my eyes” as she fell to the ground, saying she was holding onto another woman on the ground. Rochester Police shut down the Main Street Armory indefinitely following the concert, denying the venue’s one-year renewal of its entertainment license, Smith announced in a news conference, calling the decision to deny the license “one step we can immediately take to ensure that the events of Sunday night are not repeated.” Smith said he denied the venue’s application after officials from the venue failed to show up to a meeting with police in the wake of the stampede.

Tangent

The crowd surge follows another stampede at a November 2021 Travis Scott concert at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, where 10 people were killed. Attorneys representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against Scott, festival organizers and promoter Live Nation claim nearly 5,000 people were injured at the concert, including 700 that needed “extensive” medical treatment. More than 150 people were killed in another stampede at a Halloween event in Seoul, South Korea, last October, with nearly 200 more injured as a result of the crowd surge, which took place in a narrow alleyway in central Seoul.

Further Reading

Rochester Main Street Armory shut down indefinitely after deadly stampede at GloRilla concert. The latest (Democrat & Chronicle)

Concert venue where 2 died in stampede has license denied (Associated Press)