1 dead, 9 injured after concertgoers push toward exit amid shooting fears in Rochester, New York
Rochester shooting unfounded, police said
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- False fears of a shooting at a rap concert in Rochester, New York, sent a crowd surging toward the exits, killing one person and injuring nine others, police said.
Police found "no evidence to support a shooting having occurred" inside the concert late Sunday featuring rappers GloRilla and Finesse2tymes at the Main Street Armory, Rochester police Lt. Nicholas Adams said in a statement.
A 33-year-old woman died and two other women were in critical condition, the department said.
Officials believe this incident was the result of a large crowd pushing toward the exits after concertgoers thought they heard gunshots.
Rochester Police Chief David Smith said that EMS performed life-saving measures at the venue for the three severely injured women, including the deceased.
Multiple additional people were dropped off by private vehicles at hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper reported.
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans described the deadly concert Sunday night as a "tragedy of epic proportions," vowing to investigate and bring accountability for the incident.
Law enforcement is looking into the number of attendees, code violations or liquor license issues as potential contributors to the incident, Smith said.
Smith and Evans called on the public to provide videos of the incident or describe what they witnessed.
"We are nowhere near completing this investigation," Evans said. He later added, "We are going to hold people accountable for what happened last night, period."
GloRilla, a Memphis native whose 2022 song "F.N.F. (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 U.S. and around the world, including a 2021 concert by rapper Travis Scott in which 10 people died.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
