Lil Wayne’s latest Lil Weezyana Fest was plagued by a crowd stampede, which caused chaos at the event. According to the New Orleans Advocate, large portions of the audience ran in a panic due to an unknown disturbance at the UNO Lakefront Arena grounds in New Orleans on Saturday night (September 7).
Multiple attendees were injured in the stampede, which saw barriers get destroyed and tables being overturned. Concession areas were plagued by theft amid the ruckus and employees abandoned their booths in fear of their safety.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” George Krider, an employee of the catering company operating the drink booths, told the Advocate. “The first thing you think is, ‘Was it gunshots? I think it was a fight.”
Kider said employees tried to salvage what they could before “calling it a day.” Money and liquor were stolen from the booths. Fans were unable to get water later in the night due to the abandoned concessions.
AD LOADING...
Police reportedly believe a fight or false rumors of gunfire sparked the stampede, which began around 8:40 p.m. local time following Meek Mill’s performance. New Orleans police officers told the Advocate no shots were fired at the festival grounds.
“My brother said to me and my cousin, ‘Run. Just run. I don’t know what’s happening,'” concert attendee Melanie Melasky said. “I turned around at one point to see what was happening, but everyone was running away. No cops were going towards [the stampede].”
An estimated 15,000 people were in attendance at the 2019 Lil Weezayana Fest, which was live streamed on TIDAL. Multiple attendees were knocked to the ground or tripped in the stampede and required medical attention at on-site facilities.
View pictures from the scene, courtesy of the Advocate’s Keith Spera, below.
AD LOADING...
[apple_news_ad type=”any”]
