3 Confirmed Dead from Stampede at Main Street Armory Concert

Three people have died following a stampede at a rap concert at the Armory in Rochester.

Authorities say unsubstantiated fears of gunfire at the concert, Sunday, featuring rap stars GloRilla and Finesse2tymes caused concert-goers to rush the exit around 11pm.

“What began as a night of live music and fun for the performer GloRilla ended in tragedy,” Rochester Police Chief David Smith said at a press conference Monday.

“Just after 11pm, as the show ended, concertgoers began heading to the exits to leave. As people began to exit, the crowd began to surge and rushed towards the exit. There are some reports that shots were heard, causing the crowd to panic, but that has not been confirmed. Officers that were detailed outside of the venue were eventually able to make their way inside, where they located three females with significant injuries.”

The first victim was identified by Rochester Police as 33-year-old Rhondesia Belton from Buffalo. She worked for the City’s Traffic Violations Bureau.

The second victim, Brandy Miller, age 35 unfortunately passed away the evening of March 6.

Sadly, the third victim from Sunday’s tragedy at the Main Street Armory passed away on March 9. She is identified as Aisha Stephens of Syracuse NY.

“I’m just now hearing about what happened wtf praying everybody is ok,” GloRilla wrote on Twitter Sunday night.

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans says he plans to get to the bottom of the situation and hold those responsible accountable.

City officials say Main Street Armory owner, Scott Donaldson has agreed to cancel a concert scheduled for Saturday, March 11. They say they plan to meet with Donaldson later this week to discuss the path forward for the Armory as an entertainment venue.

Smith says investigations of the incident are underway to not only determine what happened, but to bring accountability to those who are culpable for the tragedy.

“We are hearing many reports of potential causes, including crowd size, shots fired, pepper spray, and more. Our investigators are interviewing surviving victims, concertgoers, security, and everyone else that has potential information as to what led to this tragedy.”

The Armory went through an inspection in December and no major violations were found.

RPD is encouraging anyone who has information or video of the incident to call 911 or send an email to pci@cityofrochester.gov