Photo: Morbid Angel at Denver’s Oriental Theater | By Kanishka Singh and Ashraf Fahim, Reuters | A rock concert was in store on a Friday evening at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, with hundreds of people looking forward to an evening of death metal music to start the weekend.
What followed was “chaos, absolute chaos” in the words of Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody as vicious storms brought down the roof half an hour into the show with 260 people inside the theater.
The deadly tragedy summed up the sudden destruction left by recent tornadoes that have ripped through the U.S. South and Midwest.
“The lights go out, I hear a noise. Everything crashes down,” Jessica Hernandez, who was inside the theater on Friday, told Reuters in an interview. Hernandez, 18, said her friends had convinced her to attend the concert.
A man aged around 50 was killed in the collapse and dozens were left injured, officials said. The deceased man was identified as Frederick Forest Livingston Jr by his employer and sister, according to ABC News.
Over 40 people were treated at local hospitals following the roof collapse incident and most injuries included orthopedic, head and neurologic trauma, and soft tissue injuries, CBS News reported, citing a local doctor.
> > > > > > > > >
Read the rest of this story here:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/absolute-chaos-illinois-theater-roof-003304693.html
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, Editing by Franklin Paul)
• • • • • • • • • •
Tornadoes strike Arkansas, Illinois; 4 dead, dozens injured
By Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, spawning deadly tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers in Arkansas and collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois.
> > > > > > > > >
Outside a Guitar Center, five people were captured on video aiming their phones at the swirling sky. “Uh, no, that’s an actual tornado, y’all. It’s coming this way,” Red Padilla, a singer and songwriter in the band Red and the Revelers, said in the video.
Padilla told The Associated Press that he and five bandmates sheltered inside the store for around 15 minutes with over a dozen others while the tornado passed. The power went out, and they used the flashlights on their phones to see.
“It was real tense,” Padilla said.
> > > > > > > > >
Read the rest of this story here:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/dangerous-storms-tornadoes-forecast-us-053435067.html
Associated Press writers Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Harm Venhuizenin in Madison, Wisconsin, Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia, Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Michael Goldberg in Jackson, Mississippi and Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
• • • • • • • • • •
1 dead, at least 28 injured after roof collapses at the Apollo Theatre in Illinois
By Rebekah Riess, CNN
Morbid Angel, one of the metal bands scheduled to perform at the event, issued a statement on Facebook canceling the concert and urging fans to “seek shelter and stay safe.”
“We are currently sheltering in place, and want to extend our support and hope that everyone at the show tonight is safe. Right now our focus is on making sure everyone in the venue tonight is ok and gets home,” the band said.
A flyer for the event shows other bands set to perform on Friday evening were Revocation, Skeletal Remains and Crypta.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/01/us/apollo-theatre-roof-collapse-illinois/index.html
• • • • • • • • • •
Statement from Morbid Angel:
On behalf of Morbid Angel, we want to first and foremost send our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the individual who tragically lost their life last night in the venue roof collapse due to heavy winds from a Tornado.
We lost a brother [Frederick Forest Livingston, Jr.] in Metal last night, and many were hurt and injured in this tragedy. We would like to express how truly thankful we are for those in attendance (Fans, Venue Staff, Bands and Crew) that assisted with getting people out and to safety. We want to thank the First responders (Fire, EMT, Police) that were on the scene quickly and were able to help in getting people out of the venue and to hospitals for treatment as quickly as possible.
YOU ARE TRUE HEROES!
At this time our minds continue to remain with all those who were injured and hospitalized, as well as everyone who was effected by the storms in the surrounding area. We truly hope for a fast recovery of all who were injured.
As a result of the events of last night, we are working to re-scheduling tonight’s show in Joliet, IL to Wednesday April 5th. With that said, our focus remains with the Victims of this terrible storm.
MA
https://www.facebook.com/officialmorbidangelpage/
Photo: Morbid Angel on Denver’s Oriental Theater marquee
‘Absolute chaos’: Illinois Theater Roof Collapse Sums Up Destruction by Storms
