Concertgoers Injured in Stampede at Roots Picnic

This had to be the scariest moment of my life. I still can't believe this happened and I was there to witness this.

On June 1^st at around 6:30 pm a stampede broke out at the Fairmount Park Stage at Philadelphia’s Roots Picnic. The incident has been attributed to various different causes by multiple news outlets and sources. Doors opened at 12pm and a variety of acts including City Girls, Lil Baby, and Ari Lennox performed without an issue.

However, the third-to-last act, 21 Savage was interrupted midway through his set, which began at 6pm. Billy Penn reported that a fight that broke out near the stage started the commotion, and the stampede was caused by false reports of an active shooter in the crowd. Whereas, 6 ABC spoke with a Live Nation representative who attributed the stampede to a “medical issue”.

The threat resulted in a stampede of people trying to flee the scene. There are 5 known individuals that suffered injuries, including a broken leg. Police came to the scene in the wake of the stampede and determined that there was no gun present. The concert continued as normal, however hundreds of people fled after the threat of a gunman.

The Roots Picnics social media accounts, nor event organizers have issued public statements regarding the event. However, Questlove took to twitter to retweet a comment made regarding the situation reading; “They were NOT shooting at Roots Picnic.”