A deadly shooting created chaos during a Wednesday night concert at Irving Plaza, where T.I. was scheduled to perform, along with Anderson .Paak, PnB Rock, and other artists. Bursts of gunfire erupted around 10:15 p.m., according to NYPD, who confirmed that one person was fatally shot and at least three more were wounded to varying degrees. Billboard reported that the deceased victim was 33-year-old Ronald “Banga†McPhatter, the bodyguard of New York rapper Troy Ave, who was shot in the leg and is recovering. The other two victims, a 26-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man, are said to be in stable condition. The NYPD released a statement to the New York Times clarifying that “T.I. does not appear to be involved with this in any way.â€
During a press conference, Chief of Manhattan South Detectives William Aubry said that preliminary investigations revealed the shooting took place in the venue’s third-floor green-room area while rappers Maino & Uncle Murda were onstage:
Patrons captured footage of the aftermath:
“Right when [T.I.] was about to go on I heard two gunshots, and right after, there was a stampede,†a witness told the New York Times. “There were at least three rounds, but after the second one was when people started running.â€
An unnamed source also described the scene for CBS New York: “We saw, like, two people up on the VIP arguing, and then everybody started running because they heard the shots,†a woman said. “It was terrifying. We just kept running with everybody else because they were running for their lives.†Pix11 added that roughly 1,000 people were at the venue, and one of the outlet’s sources claimed security guards weren’t patting down attendees at the door. An NYPD spokesperson told Vulture their investigation is ongoing.
Update: Troy Ave has been arrested in connection with the incident.
This post has been updated throughout.