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Authorities are investigating after a concert at Black Bike Week in Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, descended into chaos Saturday night, resulting in multiple injuries that sent people to the hospital, according to local reports.
The annual Memorial Day weekend event, which draws in thousands of bikers and motorcycle enthusiasts, many from the Black community, turned into a chaotic scene with multiple people injured after an apparent argument led to a stampede, The Sun News reported.
While at least 19 people were taken to the hospital in ambulances, earlier reports and rumors spreading online of mass casualties are false, Atlantic Beach Police Interim Chief Carlos Castillo said.
Fights erupted during a concert that was taking place Saturday night into early Sunday, causing the crowd to panic. Law enforcement said fights broke out, but they believed agitators ran and disappeared into the crowd, Castillo told The Sun News.
Those hospitalized were injured for a variety of reasons, including being trampled, heat exhaustion and dehydration.
No arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon.
Event attendee Hilton Dewitt told The Sun News earlier Sunday that there may have been an argument on the street around 1 a.m. that caused concert goers to rush toward the stage.
He said ambulances then came and police shut the event down. The event was set to start up again after 3 p.m. Sunday.
“We sincerely regret that anyone was injured, but we also regret the unfactual information that is being falsely spread about the Atlantic Beach Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival,” Castillo wrote.
The Atlantic Beach Bike Festival has been hosted at Atlantic Beach and other nearby beaches over Memorial Day weekend for years and draws in a large crowd of bikers, according to The Sun News.
This year’s event is being held from Friday to Monday, according to the report.
Atlantic Beach police did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment Sunday morning.
This is a developing story…
