The crowd rush at the Main Street Armory in Rochester late Monday night caused death, injury, and panic for thousands of people. 

Three women were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital. Two have since died. Police identified the first victim as Rhondesia Belton, 33, of Buffalo. The second victim's identity has not yet been released. Police say the third hospitalized victim remains in critical condition.

One person who saw it all firsthand is a Spectrum News 1 employee. She attended the concert and got caught up in the chaos when the show wrapped up.

What You Need To Know

  • A witness to the deadly stampede at a Rochester concert describes the scene

  • Spectrum News 1 producer Sedria Thomas says it was "chaotic"

  • Police and the city of Rochester are investigating

"One of her songs went viral and a lot of people resonated with her because of how she grew up," said GloRilla fan Sedria Thomas, who is also a producer in the Spectrum News 1 Rochester newsroom.

She’s OK and back at work the day after attending the GloRilla concert at the Main Street Armory.

"We got there about 9 o’clock [and] everything was pretty normal," Thomas said. 

She said she and her friend were having a great evening.

“Oh yeah, we were singing along,” she said. “The nice songs that are hip, and you see some of them on TikTok. So it was a nice time.”

But that changed, she says, when the concert ended.

“So everybody’s leaving at the same time so you get that average push, which is normal for everybody leaving a concert,” Thomas said. “But then that push became more and more aggressive every time you took a step. Because people behind us started pushing really hard.”

That's when Thomas says the panic began to set in.

“I’m not sure if people think they heard gunshots, but there were no gunshots,” she said. “I just think people started running because other people were running. And that’s when people started to fall [and] trip over each other.”

Rochester police confirm there is no evidence that gunfire took place at the event. Videos posted on social media show the chaos. 

"Females were on the ground,” she said. “I mean, females were wearing heels so it’s kind of hard to keep your balance if you’re in heels, so they were the ones falling over. People lost shoes, lost purses. It was just chaotic."

Thomas said she and her friend saw people on the floor struggling.

“It’s still a shock to see all those people like that on the floor,” she said.

The incident is making her think differently about future concerts.

“It definitely gives a different perspective on where you want to stand in concerts,” Thomas said. “You have to make sure you are safe where you are in the crowd. So maybe I’ll go to another concert, but I’ll stand more towards the back. Or maybe we'll actually leave the building before the concerts over. So it’s all about safety.”

Thomas says she hopes that the Main Street Armory will have more open doors going forward. She says there was only one available exit for the crowd following the concert. Spectrum News 1 has reached out to the venue’s owner for comment on exit procedures and has not yet heard back.

Rochester Police Chief David Smith said on Monday that multiple factors are being investigated in determining what led up to the stampede. He said that an investigation into the incident will involve following up with Rochester Code Enforcement, the New York State Liquor Authority, the Rochester Fire Department and Rochester Corporation Counsel to ensure the venue was in compliance with all laws and procedures for the event.

The city says officials and the venue owner will meet later this week to discuss the future of the Armory as an entertainment venue, after it was announced a concert scheduled for this Saturday was canceled.