Storm Destroys Roof of Morbid Angel Show in Illinois, Kills One and Injures Twelve

A powerful storm caused the roof to collapse Friday night (March 31) at the Apollo Theater in Belvidere, Illinois, where Morbid Angel set to play with Withdrawal, Skeleton Remainsand crypt. One person was reported dead, with at least 28 injured.

The collapse happened about 30 minutes into the metal concert, after a tornado warning was issued for the area. Approximately 260 people were inside the sold-out 1,500 capacity venue at the time of the incident. As of this posting, the National Weather Service has not yet confirmed if a tornado hit the venue itself.

In addition to the roof collapse, the marquee and facade fell onto the street. Of the injured, at least five were seriously injured, as several ambulances were called to the scene.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker released a statement that read, “My administration is closely monitoring the roof collapse at the Apollo Theater in Belvidere tonight. I have contacted officials for updates and to direct even what available resources we can. While we are still learning, please follow the guidance of all local authorities.”

According to Chicago Tribune, Belvidere police chief Shane Woody described the situation as, “Chaos. Total chaos. When the officers are the first on the scene, when the fire department and the first responders get here, they’re going to do the best they can to control the chaos as much as possible.

Morbid Angel posted on Facebook, “Tonight’s show was canceled due to a Tornado that hit the Venue, and caused the roof, over the area in front of the stage, and the marquee to collapse.”

The band continued, “We ask anyone still traveling to the venue to please find shelter and stay safe. We are currently sheltering in place, and would like to extend our support and hope everyone is safe at today’s show night. Right now our focus is to make sure everyone at the venue tonight is ok and can go home.”

The recovery wrote on Facebook, “All of the band and crew are safe. Thoughts are with everyone affected by this disaster.”

Crypta, who appears to have been playing just before the roof collapsed, reported, “We’re safe and sound. All the bands in the package are safe… A tornado hit the venue [and] we lost our RV, but we’re OK.”

Our thoughts go out to the victims of this terrible tragedy. Local news reports from ABC 7 Chicago and CBS 2 Chicago can be found below.

This is a developing story…





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