Two people tragically lost their lives, and eight more were left injured, following a mass stampede at a concert in New York state by the American rapper GloRilla.
Police authorities have identified the second victim as 35-year-old Brandy Miller from Rochester. Earlier on Monday, 33-year-old Rhondesia Belton from Buffalo, New York, was reported dead after arriving at a hospital.
When police were initially responding to the situation, they suspected that the crowds had frantically tried to exit the Main Street Armory venue in response to the sound of gunshots. In their later statement, they revealed that they had been receiving numerous accounts of potential causes, including a surge in the size of the crowd, pepper spray, and others. Furthermore, they mentioned that they had no proof that gunshots were actually fired, or anyone being shot or stabbed.
Amongst those injured was a 35-year-old woman who had suffered life-threatening wounds and was still in a critical condition in the hospital. It has been revealed that the deceased victim, Rhondesia Belton, had only recently been hired as an employee for the city of Buffalo’s Traffic Violations Agency.
The police gave a statement and said: “We are hearing many reports of potential causes, including crowd size, shots fired, pepper spray and more.
“Preliminary 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.”
Meanwhile, eight more victims suffered from non-life-threatening injuries. Reports suggest that people may have heard gunfire and panicked, causing a sudden surge of motion which resulted in trampling. Rochester police officers had to wait outside the venue until the crowds were under control, at which point they were able to access the venue and find three severely injured women. Furthermore, seven people with milder injuries later presented themselves at local hospitals.
Investigators are looking for further clues as to what transpired at the scene, hoping to find video footage or photos taken by attendees. As such, police have started looking into potential factors such as the crowd size, pepper spray, and gunshots.
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