21 Die in Chicago Nightclub Stampede
 

21 Die in Chicago Nightclub Stampede
12 minutes ago Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!

By BRANDON LOOMIS, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO - A disturbance at a crowded South Side nightclub early Monday sent hundreds of people rushing for the exits, killing at least 21 and injuring an unknown number of others.

There were more than 1,500 people in the two-story Epitome Night Club on the city's South Side when someone released pepper spray or Mace into the air sometime after 2 a.m., Fire Commander Will Knight said. Twenty-one people were confirmed dead, Chicago Police spokesman Pat Camden said.

"Everybody smashed; people crying, couldn't breathe," said clubgoer Reggie Clark. "Two ladies next to me died. A guy under me passed out."

"It appears a disturbance from within led to a mass chaos where people headed for the door. Most of the fatalities appear to have been crushed or had injuries due to suffocation," said police Officer Ozzie Rodriguez.

Cory Thomas, 33, went to the club to pick up two friends. As he waited outside, he saw people inside the club start to back up against the glass front door.

"You could see a mound of people. People were stacking on top of each other, screaming and gagging, I guess from the pepper spray. The door got blocked because there were too many people stacked up against it," he said.

"I saw them taking out a pregnant woman," Thomas said. "She was in bad shape. I saw at least 10 lifeless bodies."

Kristy Mitchell, 22, was one of the people trampled on the stairway.

"People were stomping my legs," she said. "When they pulled me up, I was dizzy and I couldn't breathe."

Knight said the total number of injuries was unclear because many of those with minor injuries were being taken to hospitals by family and friends.

Amishoov Blackwell, 30, was checking his coat on the second floor when people started rushing past him. The flow of the crowd pushed him back down the stairs and he fell on top of several people, he said. He was trapped on top of the others until firefighters rescued him about 30 minutes later.

"It wasn't nothing but two girls fighting," Blackwell said. "Why'd they have to spray Mace?"

The melee marks one of the nation's deadliest stampedes.

In December 1991, nine young people were crushed to death in a gymnasium stairwell while awaiting a celebrity basketball game in New York.

In December 1979, 11 people were killed in Cincinnati in a crush to get into a concert by The Who.

---------------------------------------------

For those that don't know, this is an African-American nightclub (which was quite nice IMHO).

I saw that earlier. It's too :(.

You try to enjoy yourself, then a tragedy like this happens.

Just to add, I am from the Chi, and people are saying that actually the security gaurds sprayed the mace.Is truly sad regardless fo who did it...

This was an AVOIDABLE tragedy!

I was involved in an incident similiar to this one (except no one died and everyone got out). A fight broke out on the dance floor and people started running towards to exits, except two emergency exits blocked by tables and chairs. People were climbing, pushing, knocking folks over trying to get out.

I understand that club owners/security guards want to keep the riff raff out and are just trying to make the evening safe and enjoyable, but still they shouldn't keep the club "ON LOCK DOWN" like that.

BTW...what's up with the visibly pregnant lady at the club? :confused: Yeah, I know....different topic.

Did anyone else wonder how the f*** the "good reverend" managed to get his name into this article???

Oh, not the one she posted, the one on CNN.com .

Isn't Jesse from Chicago? Or is it DC?

Also, if there is only one exit?entrance, isn't that against some type of fire-code?

***EDITTED MESSAGE***

It is being reported on NPR that the E2 only had only emergency exit open. The rest were either locked or baracaded. :(
I can't tell ya'll how many times I have seen that at "our" club's
:(

He is from Chicago, Rainbow Push is operated here...

How the hell you gonna lock fire exits and spray Mace? I was a party once and pepper spray was used on two guys that were fighting. Even though we were far away from the area, it spread fast and quick. Since I have an uncle that's a cop, my friends and I knew that you shoudl cover your mouth and limit talking and taking breaths until you get to fresh air. However, most people don't know that. Once they get a whiff of the pepper, the first reaction is to gasp and take in deep breaths, which makes it worse. Afterwards, they start running for the air.

When will clubs start taking responsibility for the patrons that keep them in business? :confused:

Club should not have been operating
 

Epitome Night Club Was Operating In Violation Of Court Order
Club Reportedly Tried To 'Contain Situation' By Locking Doors

POSTED: 5:01 a.m. CST February 17, 2003
UPDATED: 6:03 p.m. CST February 17, 2003

CHICAGO -- Authorities said 21 people were killed and dozens of others were seriously injured at a south side night club, when they were crushed while trying to exit through a single door.


The incident occurred at the two-story Epitome restaurant and night club, also known as E2, at 2347 S. Michigan Ave., around 3:30 a.m. Monday.

Late Monday afternoon, Fire Commissioner James Joyce said the nightclub was operating in violation of a court order. Joyce said previous violations had led to the court order prohibiting the use of the second floor of the building.

A city attorney said the owner of the club faces possible charges of criminal contempt because of the alleged violation of a court order.

Witnesses told Vatis that security guards responded to a minor fight between two women on the dance floor by spraying Mace or pepper spray, and the spray triggered a mass exodus. Authorities said later there were more than 1,500 people in the club at the time.

Witnesses said Monday morning that the front and back doors of the club were both chained shut, and patrons rushed for the stairs, crushing people to death. Cardiac arrest due to crushing and suffocation was the primary cause of death.

Fire Commissioner James Joyce said later Monday morning that various safety violations have been uncovered at the club.

"Most the fire code violations we found were related to locked and blocked doors," Joyce said, "and a propane container used as an auxiliary heating device."

Joyce said firefighters who first responded to the scene used force to open exits and help people out. The first paramedics to arrive were called to the scene to help a pregnant woman and were unaware that there were bodies stacked in the stairwell.



Police Superintendent Terry Hillard said investigators are talking to witnesses, security guards and others who were at the scene, and they want more people to come forward. Hillard said he thought the locked doors contributed to the high number of fatalities.

"If there is anyone who was at this particular night club at this particular time, and you have information, please call (312) 746-8252," Hillard said.

Hillard said shortly before noon that investigators have not yet substantiated witness claims that pepper spray or Mace was sprayed prior to the stampede.

Vatis said club security personnel locked the doors because they were trying to "contain the situation," and nobody was available to open the doors when people tried to rush out.

Kristy Mitchell told Vatis she was one of the people trapped in the stairwell. She said she escaped serious injury but at times could not breathe in the crowd.

Another witness told Vatis he was inside, also, and he held several people as they lay dying.

Toneta Matthews told NBC5 that she was crushed under the crowd pushing down the stairs and passed out at one point but managed to make her way outside. Once outside, Matthews said she performed CPR on two men but was unable to save them.

"People just died in my arms," Matthews said, describing the horror.

FeedRoom


Night Club Deaths





Matthews said she saw a pregnant woman die, and another pregnant woman had gone into labor in a bathroom.

Another person who was inside, Deanna Morris, called NBC5 Monday morning. She said at first, she was watching the entire disturbance from the vantage point of the V.I.P. club, a higher floor at the club.

Morris said a fight broke out on the floor, and then she saw clubs swinging just before security guards sprayed a chemical agent. Morris said security guards then told her to go downstairs and she found her way to an open door over "by the DJ's booth." A friend followed her outside, Morris said, and they ran into two Chicago police officers who reportedly tried to push them both back inside.

Morris said she did not go back inside, despite police orders. Morris said she believed the officers who told her to go back inside were just arriving at the scene and did not realize yet what was going on.

NBC5's Charlie Wojciechowski said two firefighters were also injured, but neither was seriously hurt. Wojciechowski said survivors were going from hospital to hospital, searching for friends and relatives they thought might have been at the club.

Check back for updates.

Copyright 2003 by NBC5.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I watched the report on WGN last night. Indeed it was truly sad to see those loved ones having to go and identify their family members. It was a bit much to bare and I didn't know them.

It is nice to know that church's have reached out to the families if they need assistance with arrangements, regardless if they were members of the congregation or not.

Now Jesse... :rolleyes:

It's not the first incident there
 

Something is always going on at the Epitome. Lst year a woman was shot to death in front of it and another young lady was killed when she was chased onto the nearby expressway ( She ended up driving southbound in the northbound lanes). Now reports are coming out here someone yelled "Bin Laden and terrorist attack" and that's what caused the uproar. Many reports also say the deejay was the one to yell to spray them but he quickly denied it.

As for Jesse, he said a close friend of his was there and called him to let him know what was going on.

Re: It's not the first incident there
 

Where? In da club?

:confused:

:o

Re: Re: It's not the first incident there
 

Yes!!!! I was wondering was Jesse getting his juke on himself lol.

Re: Re: It's not the first incident there
 

LOL!!! I read somewhere that the one of the owners is the son of a long time friend of Jesse's. Perhaps that is why he was there that night.:confused:

Re: It's not the first incident there
 

A CLOSE friend.:eek: :o :confused: Jesse needs to quit it.

Re: Re: It's not the first incident there
 

This time he's on the up and up. Dwain Kyles, owner of the club is the son of Rev. Samuel 'Billy" Kyles, a prominent pastor in Memphis. Rev. Kyles had preached Sunday's service at PUSH. It was Mr. Kyle's who was with Mr. Jackson when Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was killed. When Mr. Kyles heard what happened, he phoned Mr. Jackson.

Re: Re: Re: It's not the first incident there
 

Jesse wasn't there that night. He said that someone called him at home in the wee hours of Monday morning, and he came down after everything occurred.

LOL. I know that Jesse wasn't there. I was saying that the son (see Vanda's post) of Rev. Kyles was perhaps there because he was part owner.

This morning on "The Today Show", a wife of one of the victims was talking about her large lawsuit. Her lawyer did not give specifics but they plan to file a lawsuit against the club owners and possible the city of Chicago.

60 die in Rhode Island Club Fire
 

I heard on the news that the club did not have a permit for the pyrotechnics that were used. Also, because of the club's size it was not required to have a sprinkler system.

What?

In order to pass an inspection, a business does not have to install sprinklers?

What kind of madness is that?

I have been thinking about this too. I believe it is based on the size of the building and the materials that it is made of. BUt don't quote me on this. I just realized that my apartment building DOES NOT have a sprinkler system, nor can I say that my last apartment did either. :confused:

Neither do homes. That's sort of different, wouldn't you figure?
My last apartment, nor my current apartment has a sprinkler system (except for the shrubbery). However, we do have this fire detector thingy in our walk way area. :confused:

This was a place of business. Shucks, the place where I get my hair done has a sprinkler system and it's not all THAT big.

Why wouldn't a night club?

:confused:

In the Rhode Island incident, the building was constructed before sprinklers were required, so they "grandfather" the building in.----therefore sprinklers were not required for this club.

Its maddening, and when you think about it.....that is probably the case for roughly 80 - 90 percent of all nightclubs. Think about it, the majority of clubs in Chicago are in old restored commercial buildings, probably built in the early 1900's.

Its just sad!

That is so sad about the clubs in RI and Chicago. I think that in the wake of all these club stampedes, a lot of people are going to start opting for Blockbuster nights for a while. My husband and I were talking about how glad that we got out of the club scene because it's beginning to be a little much.

Question for ALL:Have you paid any attention to the "standards" or procedures noted at the clubs you frequent since these incidents have occured?

After reading this, the FIRST thing that came to mind was Dream nightclub in DC. It is a renovated warehouse or something - i know they put a lot of work (and $$) into renovating it because it is beautiful... but i'm questioning it's safety. Who knows how old that building is? Even though there are clearly marked entrances and exits, you are asked to leave through one sidewinding staircase to exit the club. There is a rooftop dancefloor and a bunch of other crazy rooms in there. Heaven forbid something happen on the middle floor - the people on the rooftop wouldn't have any way out.

well....
 

In all actuality I had stopped going to clubs about a year ago. I just didn't see the point of them and the ones that I were at weren't any fun. Now with all this stuff going on I am glad that I don't have the desire to go to clubs. I mean my situation is different though. I am still in college so instead of paying $5-10 to get in a club..I just go to the campus parties and get in for free, and I don't have to lose my parking space. I am sure when I graduate and go back home, I will try clubs again, but after all of this I will be ALOT more careful of the clubs that I go in. You can never be to careful now-a-days.

$5-$10? :eek: I WISH!

Since it's MG time....you can pay up to $40 to get in a club. :rolleyes: Regularly, $20-$25... :eek:

Re: well....
 

Where do you go that still charges only 5-10 dollars? Five to ten bucks can't get you into some college parties and clubs cost $25 and up:confused:

The night before the E2 tragedy, some friends and I had decided to get together for a birthday party at a little dive/club here. Tickets cost $25 and $35 at the door. It's amazing that less than twelve hours, we were thinking otherwise.

To Virtual Violet:
 

At the college that I go to the parties are free for ladies and for guys it cost $5. After 11 the prices go up to ladies to like $3 and guys to like $6. Now, I haven't been to a club for a couple years, but when I did go the ladies where free and dudes paid $10, but that was like two years ago so I don't know what the prices are now, but when I hear events at the clubs advertised on the radio those are generally the prices I hear a majority of the time. I think that it probably cost more in the bigger cities such as Chicago and NY and places like that than it would other places such as North Carolina. Down here when there are big events, say one of the surrounding HBCU's homecoming is that weekend, then alot of the clubs are PACKED and they do charge close to $20, but that is just too much in my opinion.

Re: To Virtual Violet:
 

I knew you must live in a college town. I do too. The lubs around here are typically $5-$10 for admission. Some nights (like tonight), most have a flat cover charge (usually $7) and free drinks. I have been to almost every club here and I have never found one that charges more, unless there is a special event (i.e. homecoming).

Then again, when I party in Atlanta, NYC, etc. I know to bring at least $50 with me (drinks and stuff, lol :cool: )

More Nightclub Nightmares
 

NEW YORK (March 9) - Eight people were shot and others were stabbed and trampled early Sunday when fighting broke out inside a nightclub above a Times Square arcade, police said.

A man who was shot in the chest and a woman shot in the stomach appeared to be the most seriously injured. Both were in critical condition Sunday, said Sgt. Dennis Ferber, a police spokesman.

Three people were hospitalized with stab wounds, and at least two people were trampled by frantic clubgoers trying to escape the fighting and gunfire, police said. Their conditions and the conditions of the others shot were not immediately known, but police said the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

Club security guard Omar Leger said he was in a bathroom when he heard gunshots about 2:40 a.m., and emerged to see people running toward the exits. He said clubgoers were falling and tripping over each other as they scrambled to get out.

''People were getting trampled,'' said Leger, who estimated that as many as 350 people were inside the Broadway City Arcade's club, on 42nd Street, a busy tourist area.

''Sometimes we have a couple of fights, but nothing like this,'' he said.

Police were investigating the cause of the brawl and talking to three people arrested on weapons charges at a nearby subway station shortly after the fight.

A man who answered the phone at the arcade early Sunday declined to comment.

AP-NY-03-09-03 0944EST

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

See, that's why I don't go anywhere! I usually only go to 'college-sponsored' events, because everytime my friends and I go to a club it seems people don't know how to act!!! I know that even at 'college' functions there is foolishness, but I actually feel a bit safer at a greek function, or homecoming function than at a local club scene! I just don't know. :(

Re: More Nightclub Nightmares
 

Hey I was just reading this story on AOL, and it was saying that the people shot and stabbed were between the ages of 17-25. :eek: WHY in the hell were they 17-year olds in the club???