The Rochester, New York, concert venue’s license was revoked Wednesday while authorities investigate the circumstances of a stampede that followed a rap concert that left two women dead and several others injured at the concert.
“This is one step we can take immediately to make sure the events of Sunday night do not happen again,” Police Chief David M. Smith told a news conference. He said he denied the Main Street Armory’s application to renew its one-year entertainment license because the venue’s owner did not attend a scheduled meeting with police and other city officials.
Rondesia Belton, 33, of Rochester and Brandi Miller, 35, of Rochester, were fatally injured when audience members dangerously headed toward the exit after a Sunday evening performance by Memphis, Tennessee, rap stars Glorilla and Finesse2Times. Police said on Monday that the reason for the stampede could be the baseless apprehension of firing. But police found no immediate evidence of gunshots.
A woman was admitted to the hospital in critical condition on Wednesday.
Smith said the city plans to meet with the venue’s owner on Wednesday to ask him to choose between voluntarily stopping the events or pending renewal of the entertainment license. When the owner did not appear, the chief signed an order prohibiting the armory from hosting “any public entertainment, including concerts, amplified music, and athletic events or games, including volleyball or cheerleading.”
An email requesting comment sent to the Main Street Armory did not elicit a response.
“Your contracted event security guards were unable to control the crowd, which led to the human stampede,” according to the city’s letter to Scott Donaldson, which said they violated a licensing requirement to maintain order at the site .
Patrick Bethe, the city’s deputy corporation attorney, said the criminal and regulatory investigation is ongoing.
“In addition to the police investigation, the Rochester Fire Department and code enforcement crews are inspecting the building and reviewing photographic and video evidence of the concert to determine if there were any fire code or building code violations at the property.” Beth said. news conference.
The fort-like armory was built from 1905 to 1907 and was initially used by the US Army. It hosted sporting events throughout the 20th century before being closed for several years starting in the late 1990s, partly because it lacked a fire-suppression system at the time. It started hosting concerts and other events in 2005 after an extensive renovation.
Smith said its main arena has a capacity of approximately 5,000 people.
“The bottom line is that lives were lost, and we need to take steps to ensure that no lives are lost in the future, if it really was something that could have been prevented,” he said. .
Deadly crowding has previously turned fatal at large events, including one at a 2021 concert by rapper Travis Scott that killed 10 people.
