Gunshot causes stampede at US music festival
Reported gunfire sent festivalgoers into a stampede at Musikfest in Pennsylvania on Saturday night (13 August), prompting police to temporarily shut down the area.
The annual 10-day music festival in the Leigh Valley town of Bethlehem was wrapping up its penultimate night when a gunshot was heard near Main and Lehigh Streets.
Alarmed by the shooting, attendees were reportedly sent into a panic that led to several being injured in a crowdsurge.
One attendee told local newspaper The Morning Call that “no one knew” what was happening and in the midst of the stampede she saw people fall and get stepped on.
“I tried helping [someone] up. He couldn’t catch his breath. He was bleeding profusely on his hands”
She continued: “I tried helping [someone] up. He couldn’t catch his breath. He was bleeding profusely on his hands, so I tried to help them as much as I could. I thought maybe he was in a fight. The bleeding was coming a lot from his knuckles but it turned out it was because they stepped on his hands.”
It’s unclear how many people were involved in the shooting but Bethlehem police chief Michelle Kott said “law enforcement [was] on site and in control of the situation”, and that there was “no known continuing threat to the public”.
Kott described the shooting as an “isolated incident” and said that an investigation had been launched.
The festival was shut down Saturday night as a precaution but was authorised to reopen on Sunday.
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Fatal stampede causes chaos at Venezuelan concert
A free concert held at Caracas’ Francisco de Miranda park on Saturday (9 November) resulted in tragedy, as a stampede left up to three dead and dozens injured.
Police estimated that 8,000 people – the vast majority minors – arrived to see the concert by Venezuelan trap artist Neutro Shorty, real name Liomar Acosta.
According to many reports, three minors were killed in the stampede. Other sources put the death toll at one, whereas online Venezuela TV channel VPI TV reports that four were killed.
Fans attempted “to climb over the entry barriers, which gave way, causing the stampede,” Miguel Balza, the coordinator of civil protection in the metropolitan area of Caracas told reporters at the AFP.
Fans attempted “to climb over the entry barriers, which gave way, causing the stampede”
The concert was later moved to an adjacent park. Speaking from the stage, the trap artist announced: “I didn’t come here to lie to you, or to cause any trouble. I came here to sing, and for free. What is going on is no good. Kids are fainting. I feel sick when I see their faces. I don’t want this to carry on.”
An investigation has launched into the incident. Neither the concert organiser or park authorities have claimed responsibility for the stampede.
A barricade collapse caused non-fatal issues at another live music event over the weekend. Three fans were hospitalised after sustaining minor injuries when an entry barrier collapsed at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in Houston on Saturday, prompting a stampede.
No serious injuries or fatalities were reported.
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