Five people injured in stampede at Roots Picnic music festival

Despite the hooplah, the Hip-Hop band produced a star-studded performance for fans

A rampant rumor that a concert goer in Philadelphia had a gun was enough to spark a stampede in which five people were injured at the Roots Picnic music festival. The crowd broke into a stampede around 6:40 p.m. while 2...

Dawn Onley

Jun 2, 2019

concert thegrio.com — (Photo Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)

A rampant rumor that a concert goer in Philadelphia had a gun was enough to spark a stampede in which five people were injured at the Roots Picnic music festival.

The crowd broke into a stampede around 6:40 p.m. while 21 Savage was on the main stage at the Mann Center, according to Philly Voice. Police said what prompted the stampede was someone in the crowd said someone had a weapon, although officers didn’t find a gun.

Others said it wasn’t a gun, but rather a fist fight that caused the pandemonium. One source said that it could have been something as simple as someone throwing up and backing up into the crowd that prompted the stampede.

Luckily, four of the five injuries appear to be minor in nature, reported police. The fifth person broke a leg. All five people were treated at local hospitals.

Attendees took to social media to discuss the incident and to weigh in on the various rumors.

According to Billy Penn, one attendee said after a fight broke out near the stage, attendees started to push to get away from it. Penn also addressed another rumor about the stage allegedly collapsing, causing the chaos Saturday night.

Some were so shaken, they declined to go back into the Mann Center after the ruckus.

https://twitter.com/ShesDANEgerous/status/1134984305887911936

“The type of f*****g RUN we had to do at the roots picnic. I still have f*****g anxiety. The fact that we live in a society with active shooter situations at events caused so much hysteria. I really ran for my life. I will NEVER do another festival again,” one Twitter user stated.

The Roots Picnic music festival is always a popular one for music enthusiasts. This year marks the 12th year for the festival. Previously, the music festival was held at Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing, but that location officially closed this year.

Despite the hooplah, the concert was filled with amazing performances from the likes of Common, Lil Baby, H.E.R., DJ Aktive, Tank and The Bangas, Yasiin Bey, Pharoahe Monch, Davido and Jilly from Philly aka Jill Scott. The closing concert was from The Roots, proving why they have been winning in the game for so long.

This was the first year that the event was held at the Mann Center in Fairmount Park.