A roof collapse at the Apollo Theater in Belvidere, Ill. left at least one concertgoer dead and dozens more injured on Friday evening.
The Apollo Theater was hosting “The United States of Terror” tour, headlined by four heavy metal bands — Crypta, Revocation, Skeletal Remains and Morbid Angel. After Crypta’s set, the venue made an announcement that the show would need to take a brief pause before Morbid Angel took the stage, due to the ongoing extreme weather conditions. Minutes after the initial announcement, the full roof collapsed on top of the concertgoers, per the New York Times.
The venue was hosting roughly 260 patrons. More than 40 people were hospitalized, with five people suffering severe injuries. At least one person died in the incident. Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle reported that two of those impacted are suffering with life-threatening injuries.
Band members of Crypta and Morbid Angel have shared that members of both groups sustained no serious injuries.
According to the National Weather Service, the Apollo suffered “possible tornado damage.” A storm with 75 mph winds had been sweeping through the northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin region. Authorities believe concertgoers weren’t aware of the storm and tornado sirens due to the volume of music at the venue.
A series of tornadoes have ripped through the Midwest and Southern United States in recent days, killing at least nine people in Indiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. At least 30 people were injured in Little Rock, Ark. ahead of the Belvidere emergency. 16 million people from Texas to Michigan were put under tornado watches on Friday.
Soon after the incident, Illinois Gov. J.B Pritzker notified residents that his administration was “closely monitoring” the situation and would soon have resources for those impacted.
