GloRilla concert stampede claims third victim

Stampede at GloRilla concert claims third victim as officials shut down venue

A flyer for a concert hangs on a light post outside a tall brick building

March 9, 2023 3:13 PM PT

The fatal crowd surge during a recent GloRilla concert in Rochester, N.Y., has claimed another victim.

The Rochester Police Department announced Thursday morning that “the remaining hospitalized victim” died Wednesday evening. Officials said the concertgoer, who was in critical condition on Tuesday, was 35-year-old Aisha Stephens of Syracuse, N.Y.

As GloRilla’s show at the Main Street Armory ended just after 11 p.m. Sunday, mistaken fears of a shooting sent attendees rushing for the exits. On Monday the police department said 33-year-old Rhondesia Belton was killed and nine other attendees were injured.

On Tuesday Lt. Greg Bello announced that 35-year-old Rochester resident Brandy Miller was also killed in the stampede.

Following the fatal crowd surge, the Rochester Police Department announced Wednesday that it has prohibited the Main Street Armory from hosting public events.

The Armory owner, Scott Donaldson, was supposed to meet Wednesday with members of the city Corporation Counsel’s Office and the RPD’s Licensing Unit.

“He would have been presented with a choice to voluntarily cease holding entertainment events at the venue pending the outcome of these investigations, or have the pending renewal of the Armory’s Entertainment License Denied,” police said Wednesday in a release.

Donaldson “declined to attend this meeting,” the release added. As a result, Chief David M. Smith “signed an order denying the renewal application,” effective Wednesday. The denial bars the Armory from hosting “any public entertainment, which includes concerts, amplified music, and athletic events or games, including volleyball or cheerleading.”

In a public notice of the denial, which has been posted at the venue, Smith alleges that Donaldson “failed to maintain good order” at the Armory, as outlined in the city’s code.

“Your contracted event security guards were unable to control the crowd as they were running, which in turn caused a human stampede,” the notice said.

After the concert, which also featured rapper Finesse2Tymes, GloRilla addressed news of the fatal crowd surge on social media.