Posted on 02/18/2003 10:20:39 AM PST by Indy Pendance
Shouts of "poison gas" and fears of a terrorist attack may have fuelled a fatal stampede that erupted when Mace was used to break up a fight at a crowded Chicago nightclub.
Several locked exits and blocked doors - some had bags of laundry stored in front of them - added to the chaos which saw at least 21 people crushed to death and 50 more injured.
The crush happened on early Monday morning after bouncers at E2 club used Mace and pepper spray to halt a fight between two women.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson, who visited victims and survivors, said those inside told him someone had yelled "poison gas" and that fears of a terrorist attack added the panic.
Chicago's police chief, Terry Hillard, yesterday promised a full investigation of the tragedy. "Right now our investigation is at full tilt. It will be a very painstaking process," he said.
Mr Hillard said police were receiving conflicting accounts of how the fight started, who sprayed Mace and why, and how people died. He added that video footage from the club's security cameras would be examined.
City officials said the second-storey club was open in violation of a court order and that they would seek criminal contempt charges against the owners. The club had been shut down since July because of 11 fire and building code violations.
The commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department, James Joyce, said investigators had found numerous code violations at the club, including a number of locked and blocked doors. Bags of laundry were stored in front of several doors.
"There are people who were trying to get out who could not get out," Mr Joyce said. "We can't explain how management ... would allow that to happen."
Between 1500 and 2000 people had been at the E2 dance club on Chicago's south side, celebrating the long President's Day weekend. So many needed medical help that some bodies were carried out to ambulances by clubbers as emergency officers treated others who had piled up at the nightclub's one double door.
Families and friends of victims scoured hospitals on Monday looking for their loved ones. One, Marcia Green, was trying to find her 19-year-old sister, Charita Rhodes. "She never came home," she said. "The last time she was seen was with a friend, holding hands and trying to get out of the building, but I think they got separated.
"This is not like her not to call. It looks like we are going to have to go to the morgue."
A dozen bouquets and three white teddy bears sat in front of the club on Monday, with a card that said "We Miss You - RIP. - Keep Yo Heads Up!" Just after midday, a young girl stopped by to add a brown teddy with the message, "Our prayers are with you."
Charges considered in nightclub fire
Hundreds of people packed into the second-floor E2 club on the city's South Side stampeded down a stairwell after security guards broke up a fight and someone sprayed pepper gas or Mace. A lawyer for the club operators suggested someone might have shouted a warning about a terrorist attack.
I hope God doesn't punish bad spelling.
"Mr. Grant said his clients had rented the club to private promoters, a firm called Envy Entertainment"
"The management of this business is well aware of this court order," Chicago fire commissioner James Joyce said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Yep and discovery is always a b!ch#.
In Chicago, you can make a shorter list by asking, "who wasn't paid off".
I was on a commuter train this morning when one end of the car started filling up with smoke. I watched as certain people bolted for the door much more franticaly than they would have if we weren't at "code orange".
There is however a local reverend and his politician son who directly lobbied for this club to stay open after it had been cited for numerous safety violations. I'll let you figure out who that was.
Lawsuit if and only if Jesse Jackson can find a white guy even remotely connected to this incident. He's already decided the black owners who knowingly disobeyed city ordinances are not to be blamed.
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