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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.

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