Main Street Armory Closed Indefinitely, Owner Responds Following Deadly Stampede

The owner of Main Street Armory in Rochester has finally commented on a deadly stampede in which three people were killed at a Rochester concert on March 5th.

Grammy-nominated rapper GloRilla and Finnesse2tymes were performing at the venue when rumors of gunfire created a frenzy just after the show ended around 11 pm, according to the Rochester Police Department. Some at the event have said they heard gunshots, but investigators have yet to find evidence of actual gunfire.

A previous concert hosted inside Main Street Armory - From Main Street Armory's Facebook Page rochester
A previous concert hosted inside Main Street Armory – From Main Street Armory’s Facebook Page

Nevertheless, the hysteria prompted by the threat of gunfire resulted in a chaotic stampede that killed three people. At least 7 others were injured and initially treated at local hospitals for non-fatal injuries. They have since been released.

As of March 13th, Donaldson has now commented on the incident in the form of a written statement released by the law office Gallo & Iacovangelo:

“The Main Street Armory, Scott Donaldson, and his team are devastated by the events that occurred March 5, 2023. Our deepest condolences go out to the families, friends and loved ones of Rhondesia Belton, Brandy Miller and Aisha Stephens. Over the years, the Armory has successfully hosted hundreds of events.”

Local Rochester news station, WHEC-TV, interviewed concertgoers who survived the stampede. “Me and the girl next to me were climbing on each other trying to get each other up,” Ikea Hayes, a concert goer told WHEC-TV.

“I was watching my life flash before my eyes and I still didn’t know what was going on so it’s like, not only am I on the ground, scared, praying like you got to get up,” she said. “You got to move. If you stay here they’re going to keep running you over. So you got to get up. You got to move.”

The Mayor of Rochester, Malik D. Evans said in a press conference that there would be an investigation to see if the arena had followed proper safety measures. The venue, which is a military base turned concert hall, can hold 5,000 people. However it is unclear how many people were in attendance at the GloRilla concert.

Fans of The Struts packed the Main Street Armory. Photo by Samantha Rychlicki of NYS Musi GloRilla rochester
Fans of The Struts packed the Main Street Armory. Photo by Samantha Rychlicki of NYS Music

Main Street Armory has previously hosted large acts such as Panic! At the Disco, the Struts and Styx. However, the venue has had issues before. As NYS Music originally reported back in August of 2022, a concert by the heavy metal band Anthrax was canceled in August after the stage broke during an opening band’s set. 

On Twitter, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian wrote, “Rochester we didn’t want to cancel, we had to. The stage was broken, the venue did not fix it and it was not safe to continue the show.”

Due to unforeseen production issues, the show tonight at the Main Street Armory in Rochester had to be canceled by both ANTHRAX and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY as it was unsafe for the bands to perform. ANTHRAX and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY do not cancel shows lightly but we could not put the health and safety of the bands and crew at risk. All of the bands tonight apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment. We will be back to Rochester to rock another time. Refunds are available at the point of purchase starting Tuesday, August 23.

Statement from Anthrax

Main Street Armory did pass an annual fire safety inspection in December 2022 and is compliant with all fire codes, a city spokesperson told Democrat and Chronicle. The Democrat and Chronicle also reviewed crime reports available at the venue since 2020 on Rochester Police Department’s data portal and found five incidents consisting of petty larceny and assault.

Last Wednesday the city refused to renew Main Street Armory’s  entertainment license, so the venue is shut down as investigation is underway. The city had planned to meet with the venue’s owner, Scott Donaldson, on Wednesday to discuss voluntarily halting events but Donaldson requested to adjourn the meeting for later in the week, citing an unspecified ongoing legal matter. His request was denied by the RPD resulting in its immediate closure, according to Rochester Police Chief David M. Smith. All scheduled concerts have been canceled for the time being.

The GloRilla crowd surge at Main Street Armory has brought to mind a similar tragedy from 2021 at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival. 10 people were killed in a massive crowd surge, although the incident was not related to potential gunfire.

GloRilla tweeted on Monday the 6th after hearing about the incident. “I’m just now hearing about what happened wtf,” she wrote. “Praying everybody is ok.”

She followed up by saying, “I am devastated & heartbroken over the tragic deaths that happened after Sunday’s show. My fans mean the world to me praying for their families & for a speedy recovery of everyone affected.”

It is unclear when Main Street Armory will reopen or how long police investigations into the matter will last.

“Lives were lost,” Smith said in a press conference. “We need to take steps to make sure no lives are lost in the future, if indeed this was something that was preventable.”

Police have taken statements from several witnesses but that anyone with information is asked to call (585) 428-6720 or email psi@cityofrochester.gov.

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