Transit officials believe that an insect may have caused the stampede at an Atlanta metro station filled with concertgoers coming from a Beyoncé performance in early July.
11 people were hospitalised after the commotion in Vine City Station, during which officials believe started when a girl screamed after seeing a cockroach, according to the New York Post.
People were thrown to the ground when an overcrowded escalator suddenly stopped as Beyoncé fans attempted to flee the station, according to NBC News affiliate WXIA. One person broke their ankle and several others received cuts and bruises during the fall.
Mob mentality
The fans rushed to exit the station after hearing a scream, though witnesses later said “the person who screamed was reacting to an insect,” Stephany Fisher, MARTA’s senior director of communications, said Friday, according to NBC News.
“I believe there’s also video on TikTok of a woman claiming it was a 10-year-old relative who screamed when she saw a bug,” Fisher said.
He added: “Video from the rail station clearly shows people reacting and running, but you can’t see who screamed or what they were reacting to.”