GloRilla at the 2022 American Music Awards held at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live on November 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
Memphis-bred rapper GloRilla has spoken out after a second person reportedly passed away following a crowd stampede at her concert in Rochester, New York on Sunday.
As The Shade Room previously reported, GloRilla fans in Rochester, New York came out to see the rapper perform alongside Finesse2tymes. The concert reportedly took place at the Rochester Main Street Armory, on Sunday.
However, during the performance concertgoers reportedly began to rush toward the exit after hearing, what they determined to be, gunshots.
Rochester Police Chief David M. Smith later revealed that authorities did not “have any evidence of gunshots being fired.” Nor did he say authorities had any evidence “of anyone being shot or stabbed at the scene.”
As previously reported by TSR, the stampede took place around 11 p.m. First responders arrived on the scene to find “three critically-injured women.” One of the women, since identified as Rhondesia Belton, 33, reportedly passed away.
Then the two surviving women, in addition to seven others, were transported to nearby hospitals to be treated for “non-life-threatening injuries.”
Upon receiving word of the incident, GloRilla took to Twitter to share her astounded reaction with fans.
According to AP News, Mayor Malik Evans called the incident at Sunday’s concert “totally unacceptable.” Additionally, he vowed that authorities would “get to the bottom of this.”
We are going to hold people accountable for what happened last night, period.
As TSR previously reported, the Rochester Police Department published a statement on social media. Furthermore, the department explained that they are extremely focused on “bring[ing] accountability to those who are culpable.”
On Monday evening, AP News reported that a second woman, aged 35, has passed away following the concert stampede. Her name has not been released, but she is believed to be one of the three women first responders found in critical condition.
GloRilla returned to Twitter at 11:44 p.m. Monday night to share her devastation with fans after learning of the second death at Sunday’s concert. The rapper explained that she is “heartbroken over the tragic deaths.”
She is also “praying for the families” of the concertgoers and for a “speedy recovery” of everyone that was affected by the stampede.
According to AP News, the Rochester Main Street Armory underwent a physical fire safety inspection in December. The venue turned out to be “compliant with fire codes.” Additionally, the venue has a maximum capacity of 5,000 people. According to the outlet, the city fire marshal is working with the police to determine if that capacity was exceeded at Sunday’s concert.
An upcoming A Boogie wit da Hoodie concert, scheduled for Saturday, has since been canceled.
Furthermore, Mayor Evans shared a brief statement regarding concertgoing and the pivotal expectation of safety.
If you go to a concert, you do not expect to be trampled. Your loved ones expect you to be able to come home and talk about the experience that you had at that great concert.
