Third person dies after stampede at GloRilla’s New York concert

Crowds surged towards the exit after fearing there was a shooting at the event

Police have identified a third victim who died following a stampede at GloRilla’s Rochester, New York concert, according to new reports.

False fears of a shooting at the rapper’s upstate New York concert sent a crowd surging towards the exits in a stampede that killed two people and left at least eight others injured, police said.

The casualties at Sunday (5 March) night’s concert featuring GloRilla and Finesse2tymes were caused by people being trampled, Police Chief David M Smith said at a news briefing on Monday (6 March).

“We do not have any evidence of gunshots being fired or of anyone being shot or stabbed at the scene,” Smith said.

As the concert at Rochester’s Main Street Armory ended just after 11pm EST, people exiting the venue began to surge dangerously. Police made their way inside and found three women with critical injuries, Smith said.

Rhondesia Belton of Rochester, 33, died at a hospital. The other two women were in critical condition on Monday morning. Later that day, one of the women succumbed to her injuries. She was identified as 35-year-old Brandy Miller.

On Thursday (9 March), the third woman died. She was identified as Aisha Haskins, 35. All three women died from injuries sustained in the crowd surge.

The Independent has contacted local authorities for further comment.

GloRilla (AP)

Other people were taken to hospitals and treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, Smith said.

While there is no evidence of shots being fired, Smith said, police are investigating several possible causes of the fatal surge, including “possibly crowd size, shots fired, pepper spray and other contributing factors”.

Mayor Malik Evans called the fatal stampede “a tragedy of epic proportions” and promised a thorough investigation. “We are going to hold people accountable for what happened last night, period,” Evans said.

GloRilla, a Memphis native whose 2022 song “FNF (Let’s Go)” with Hitkidd was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance, tweeted that she was “praying everybody is ok”.

Fatal crowd surges have been a recurring disaster at concerts and other large events in the US and around the world, including a 2021 concert by rapper Travis Scott in which 10 people died.

Additional reporting from Associated Press