A crowd stampede injured several people attending a New Orleans, Louisiana festival organised by rapper Lil Wayne on Saturday.
Two stampedes took place at the Lil WeezyAna Fest event at the UNO Lakefront Arena, according to The New Orleans Advocate.
Police officers aren’t sure what caused the panics among the 15,000 concertgoers, which took place after Meek Mill played a 30-minute set and between Travis Scott and Wayne’s gigs.
Although there is no official number of injured, Advocate editors report a 17-year-old girl who lost consciousness was treated and recovered, while an MC also called for a stretcher to be brought to the side of the stage and threatened to shut down the concert.
“My brother said to me and my cousin, ‘Run. Just run. I don’t know what’s happening,'” local attorney Melanie Melasky told the newspaper of her experiences at the festival. “I turned around at one point to see what was happening, but everyone was running away.”
A medical tent and concession stands near the stage were reportedly overrun during the panic, with the medical station wrecked. Sections of fencing were also damaged and looted.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” added an employee working at one of the beverage booths. “It was a stampede. The first thing you think is, ‘Was it gunshots?’ I think it was a fight.”
Police officers stationed at the venue confirmed that no shots were fired on the festival grounds and it is not clear what caused the commotion. The show continued despite the frightening scenes.
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