Chicago club stampede kills at least 21 Monday, February 17, 2003 Posted: 9:01 AM EST (1401 GMT) CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- At least 21 people were killed and 19 others critically injured when hundreds of panicked nightclub patrons rushed down a stairwell and were crushed early Monday in Chicago, Illinois, police said. "There was a disturbance or altercation in the bar in which pepper spray or Mace may have been used -- some sort of stampede occurred," said Police Officer Ozzie Rodriguez. At least 11 people were being treated for less serious injuries. There were between 500 and 1,000 people inside the Epitome Nightclub, according to Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Will Knight. Many of the victims were trampled or crushed as they rushed to the club's exits, witnesses said. "Everybody smashed; people crying, couldn't breathe," patron Reggie Clark told The Associated Press. "Two ladies next to me died. A guy under me passed out." One of the building's exits was chained shut, and firefighters had to cut it open, Knight said. He said the area was being treated as a crime scene. Cory Thomas, 33, said he was waiting outside the club with friends when the stampede occurred, according to the AP. "You could see a mound of people," Thomas told the AP. "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. "I saw them taking out a pregnant woman," Thomas said. "She was in bad shape. I saw at least 10 lifeless bodies." Some club patrons opened doors and went into broom closets. Apparently there was only one way down from the second level to the first, contributing to the problem. Firefighters had to pull trampled bodies out of stairwells. "There was a disturbance or altercation in the bar in which pepper spray or Mace may have been used -- some sort of stampede occurred," said Chicago Police Officer Ozzie Rodriguez. "They're stuck in the hallway. They literally can't move," a panicked patron told police. "She's not breathing. She's not breathing," a man called to medics as he helped load the limp body of a woman into the back of an ambulance. The incident began around 3 a.m. CST (4 a.m. EST). The nightclub is at 24th Street and South Michigan Avenue. Could the recent raised terror alert have caused this panic? People in the club see/smell a mysterious agent in the air and go crazy running for the exits?
I read this on CNN this morning. I would say 1) Having only one exit from the second floor 2) Having one of the main exits chained shut 3) Having, what sounds like, more people in the building that it was permitted to have and most importantly 4) Having a whole bunch of drunk people panicing and not using sound judgement probably contributed to this more than the fear of terrorism. RIP to those who were killed. What a tragedy.
Lookin for her "baby daddy" probably. drapg, why the hell are you up so early if you don't have work today.
Well I see it this way: We're living in a world where biological/chemical warfare is a real threat. We're reminded of this on a daily basis through all facets of the media. Hell a man was gunned down in broad daylight at a gas station over the weekend and surrounding customers continued to pump their gas as if nothing had happened. Yet people smell/notice an odd chemical in the air, in a huge metropolis like Chicago, and instantly think the worst. Why? Because the goverment keeps tells us we're on an "orange" terror alert right now. I mean we've got people walking out of donut shops around here because of suspicious looking people. I can easily imagine people instantly panicing and trampling over each other for the exits when they see/smell and odd chemical in the air. Sure the problems with chained exits and such contributed to the sad deaths. I'm not denying that at all. But I have to think that the recent heightened terror scare also played a big part in this tragedy.
It's my natural clock. I like to run in the early morning, before all the stupid traffic gets on the streets, polluting the sidewalks with exhaust fumes and driving crazy and nearly running me over.
me too...i wake up BY 7 am everyday, including weekends. if i sleep till 7:30, i overslept. i have tons of energy in the morning...but not so much by about 2-3 in the afternoon. then i get a kick of energy again around 7 or so.
I'm with drapg, I get up early too, even on weekends. Besides, one of our damned cats will be standing on my chest by 7 anyway. The morning is absolutely the best time of day. I walked in to work (3 miles) while the city was waking up -- awesome.
I guess its a distinct possibility being that one of the things that is regularly put out there is clubs, hotels, or other locations where large groups gather are likely targets. Add to that we have heard of more than on instance where terrorists have targeted places like this overseas. Hell, it may just be that they were all drunk, were stumbling and tripped.
While it may well have been that terror fears played in the minds of some or all of the patrons of this establishment during this melee, until survivors confirm that that was on their minds, I'm going to be skeptical if only because we've seen several incidents not too dissimilar to this in the past when there was no terror threat. And the mention of the man gunned down at the gas station and no one being concerned at all would seem to indicate the opposite frame of mind. There was no panic despite the fact that someone was gunned down in broad daylight. People pumped their gas, stepped around the body, etc. without apparent concern for their own safety despite the terror alert. In the end, I guess my answer is maybe, maybe no.
The only other incidents i've heard of this nature have happened at 1) concerts and 2) soccer games Things like this don't just happen for no reason.
I mentioned that to show that the government's repeated statements of chemical warfare have almost brainwashed the American public to only be on the lookout for that type of danger. "Basic violence" that occurs on a daily basis (like the gundown) has been overlooked with the mass hysteria towards duct tape, plastic, and potential terrorist strikes.
