More than fifty dead at US County Festival shooting

More than fifty people have been killed at a Las Vegas country music festival in a shooting which left more than more one hundred concert goers wounded. The deaths at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival began when it seems a lone gunman began shooting as the final night's headliner Jason Aldean began his performance at the Mandalay Bay casino. As crowds attempted to find safety, there were reports of multiple shooters but police have said that they now believe one man to be responsible. He has not yet been named, but it has been reported that he is a local resident.

UPDATE

Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire with an automatic on 22,000 concertgoers from his room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Last Vegas around 10 p.m. on Sunday night.

At least 50 people were killed and over 400 people were sent to nearby hospitals.


Paddock, who had no serious criminal history, died of an apparent self-inflicted wound. Police could not immediately determine a motive.

Rogue drugs prompt Kendal Calling warnings

Three more people are being treated in hospital, following the death of a teenager after being sold “rogue drugs” at the Kendal Calling festival in the Lake District. Christian Pay, 18, from Millom in Cumbria died in hospital following “substance abuse”. All of the latest victims were said to be 'seriously ill'. A 29-year-old woman remains in a critical state. Two others have been discharged after hospital treatment - they were amongst the first five who were taken ill on Friday.

Drugs seized that may be linked to the illnesses include a blue tablet with an Adidas logo, yellow powder believed to be MDMA, and an orange oval tablet with a Rolls-Royce logo. Other seized drugs have been described as green tablets with a white fleck and plain grey tablets with a white fleck.Four people were arrested on suspicion of intent to supply drugs. All were released on bail.   

Live fast .... die young

Professor Diana Kenny from the University of Sydney has proved what most of suspected .... and The Who yearned for .... rock stars tend to die younger than the rest of us. Its not all bad news, Mick Jagger is 71 and Keith Richards 70, Tony Bennett has made it to 88 and Petula Clark is 81, with Dame Vera Lynn now 97. Even Ozzy has made it to 65 and a free bus pass. But Kenny's research shows that rock stars live anything up to 25 years less than their peers. There is of course the 'curse of 27' which has snapped up such talent as Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix - although death at the age of 27 has no statistical basis - but the study of nearly 13,000 rock and pop stars from the 1950s onwards in all genres shows that popsters and rockers are twice as likely as the general public to die in an accident, six times more likely to be murdered, and twice as likely to commit suicide. The average age of death for male rock stars is in the mid fifties -  and the Beatles are a good example - one (John Lennon) murdered aged just 40, another (George Harrison) dead of lung cancer at 58 - but Sir Paul and Ringo are still rocking on aged 72 and 74 years old respectively.

Tragic deaths at ADE

It has been confirmed that four people have died at the annual Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) over the weekend. Police announced a 41-year old woman died on her way to hospital after taking a ecstasy pill at an event that was part of ADE. In addition, a 21-year old Dutch man and a 33-year old Serbian man both passed away early on Sunday morning after attending events. Police have indicated that they believe  all three deaths are linked to a deadly batch of ecstasy and although this has not been confirmed, Police warned the public to dispose of the drug.

Richard Zijlma, ADE Director, said:

“The ADE organization is shocked by these tragic accidents. We are in close contact with all of the venues, municipalities and emergency services that are part of the ADE Festival and every precaution is taken to ensure the safety and security of the audience at all participating venues. Each venue is responsible for its own security and door policy and a comprehensive inspection is also completed at every venue entrance.

Drug use is not tolerated in any way and ADE and its partners make every effort to ensure that people are behaving responsibly at the event. Ultimately there is a limit to what we can do and individuals must take responsibility for their own actions. Our thoughts are with the families and friends at this time and we would like to express our deepest sympathy to them.”


A fourth death at ADE was also confirmed. Music executive Felix Hines, Head of Publishing at Phoenix Music International, passed away Saturday night.

Acrobat dies in tragic pendulum accident

A circus performer has fallen to his death during a live show in Brazil. Wilson Gomes Barreto, 28, was performing trick known as Russian Litter in which 14 acrobats swing from pendulums down into safety nets. when it went horribly wrong. Reports say that he fell 35 feet onto the stage at a show in Londrina, southern Brazil. Emergency workers rushed to his aid and the lights were cut. He was conscious and complained of a fractured elbow after the fall but after being taken to a local hospital, Barreto died two days later. Circus director Richard Massone said the incident was a tragedy for the Tihany circus troupe. 

Warehouse death and illnesses blamed on drugs

Police investigating the death of a man who died at a Warehouse Project night in Manchester on Friday 27th September are said to be considering the theory that a "bad batch of drugs" could be the cause. Five other clubbers were also hospitalised after taking a drug, thought to be ecstasy.

It has previously been confirmed that two deaths at the Electric Zoo festival in New York last month were drug-related. As previously reported, the third day of the EDM festival was cancelled after the deaths. The New York City medical examiner’s office confirmed that both Olivia Rotondo and Jeffrey Russ, both in their early 20s, died from overdoses of MDMA combined with hyperthermia on the second day of the event.

'Legal High' caused festival fan's death

A coroner has ruled that a 35 year old man died by slashing himself after suffering a paranoid reaction to a 'legal high' which he took at Bestival last year. Daniel Parks from Tunbridge Wells took a product called 'magic crystals' which contained a prohibited substance believed to be 4-Methylethcathinone and was found by his wife locked in a toilet having inflicted several wounds to his arms with a kitchen knife. The Isle of Wight coroner ruled Mr Parks had purchased the drugs in advance and was unaware they contained prohibited substances. 

'Legal High' death at Rockness

Scottish police are investigating whether a teenager who died at a Rockness took a “legal high” drug used by two of his friends, who have been hospitalised. Alex Heriot, 19, from the Portobello area of Edinburgh, died on Saturday night after collapsing next to the main stage at RockNess, near Inverness. Two friends aged 19 and 20 who were in the same group as Mr Heriot – and had taken the drug Benzo Fury - became ill and were taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. RockNess event commander Superintendent Stevie Mackay said: “Early indications are that the man may have consumed drugs and this is one of the lines of inquiry at this stage. A post-mortem will be carried out to determine the cause of death.”  In a completely separate road incident two other people died when a coach ferrying festival goers to the event collided with a van on the A9 near Ralia in the Highlands. The deceased were named as Mark McFarlane and Barry Murray, both from the Glasgow area.