Witnesses help piece together events that led to deadly stampede at New York concert

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHAM) — Traveling from Niagara Falls, two friends were among concertgoers who returned to the Main Street Armory in Rochester, New York to knock on the front doors Monday.

They're looking for credit cards, cell phones and other personal belongings they said they lost during Sunday night's deadly post-concert crowd surge.

I was getting rushed, and I lost my phone," one woman said. "I didn’t even know I lost my phone until I started patting at my pocket like, 'Where my phone at?' and I started bugging out."

Another woman shared her sentiments about retrieving her items.

And we come in here to get our stuff and this is how y'all are treating people," the other woman said. "How do y'all want us to come back and give you our money and come to concerts and have fun? First of all, our lives are in danger and we can't even come back and get our stuff. This is crazy to me."

Police said fans were leaving the GloRilla and Finesse2tymes concert Sunday just after 11 p.m. when the crowd rushed for the exits, trampling one woman to death and critically injuring two others.

We thought everything was good at first," one woman said. "We were going to the door to leave out and everybody started rushing back, so we started running and falling and everything."

"There was a lot of people just pushing and shoving," the other woman said. "I was, unfortunately, one that was on the ground. Thank God I did get up, but everybody wasn’t as fortunate. It was a different experience. It was really scary. I have never been through nothing like this."

Officers posted outside as part of the security detail arranged by the Armory were eventually able to make their way inside to help. They found three woman with life-threatening injuries.

RPD officers, security and EMS personnel provided life-saving measures on the three females before they were transported to Strong hospital," Rochester Police Chief David Smith said.

Police said they couldn't confirm whether reports of gunshots led to the rush. Concertgoers who spoke to WHAM said they didn't hear any shots; they just saw people running.

GloRilla tweeted about the incident shortly after midnight.

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans called the incident a "tragedy of epic proportions" and said the city will hold the venue accountable.

When you have a popular artist like that, you’re going to have a large crowd," Evans said. "So, the question will be, 'Were the appropriate actions taken?'"

Evans said multiple agencies are investigating to make sure all regulatory safety measures were followed.

"You have to make sure that all I's are dotted and T's are crossed," Evans continued. "Now, it’s too early to say what precipitated this, as the chief said, but I intend to get to the bottom of this."

Another concertgoer said a confetti cannon went off toward the end of the concert as people were leaving and may have been the reason people started running. Police said that's one of several claims they're evaluating.

Anyone with pictures, video or information about the incident is asked to call 911.

The owner of the Main Street Armory has not responded to requests for comment.