Second woman who died in stampede at GloRilla concert identified

Victoria E. Freile, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
·2 min read
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Police on Tuesday identified the second woman who died after she was trampled when a large crowd surged late Sunday following a GloRilla concert at the Main Street Armory in Rochester.

Brandy Miller, 35, of Rochester died on Monday, hours after the first victim - Rhondesia Belton, 33, of Buffalo - had died from her injuries, said Lt. Greg Bello of the Rochester Police Department. A third severely injured woman, a 35-year-old from Syracuse, remains hospitalized in critical condition at Strong Memorial Hospital.

'I am devastated and heartbroken'GloRilla tweets after deadly stampede at Rochester concert

Seven additional people were treated at area hospitals for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Rochester Police Chief David Smith said the injuries appear to be the result of a crowd pushing toward the exits Sunday night after they thought they heard gunshots.

What we know nowWhat's next for the investigation into deadly Rochester concert?

While there is no evidence of gunfire, Rochester Police Chief David Smith said police are investigating several possible causes of the fatal surge, including “possibly crowd size, shots fired, pepper spray and other contributing factors.”

The incident occurred just after 11 p.m. Sunday, as people were exiting the Armory following a concert featuring rappers GloRilla and Finesse2tymes.

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans called the fatal stampede “totally unacceptable" and promised a thorough investigation into whether the venue's operators had the necessary safety measures in place for a large crowd.

“We are going to hold people accountable for what happened last night, period,” Evans said, though he cautioned that it was too early in the investigation to assign blame. “I intend to get to the bottom of this.”

GloRilla, whose 2022 song “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” with Hitkidd was nominated for a Grammy for best rap performance, tweeted that she is “devastated and heartbroken" that women died after her Sunday show. She said she is "praying for their families and for a speedy recovery of everyone affected."

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Brandy Miller of Rochester NY killed in stampede at GloRilla concert