A Los Angeles vigil commemorating rapper Nipsey Hussle was cut short on Monday by a stampede sparked by inaccurate reports of shots fired in the area, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Times reported that the reports of shots fired prompted dozens of people to begin running away around 8 p.m. Monday. According to the paper, people collided as they attempted to flee the packed crowd.
Nineteen people were taken to hospitals, including two in critical condition and two more with serious injuries, according to the Times. Fifteen others had non-life-threatening injuries, according to the paper. Most suffered injuries relating to being trampled amid the rush.{mosads}
The Times noted that several police officers tried to control the crowd and gather information about what sparked it to disband.
Musician DeAndre Harvey, who said he attended the memorial, told the Times that a fight broke out and led to liquor bottles and candles breaking, which some in the crowd mistook as the sound of gunshots.
“I don’t know who was fighting,” Harvey told the Times. “I didn’t actually see the punches, but you just saw arms rolling and glass breaking and everybody running.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore wrote on Twitter late Monday that authorities were working to “restore order,” writing that the reports of shots fired did “not appear to be accurate.”
“Our people are onscene [sic] making every effort 2 protect everyone in attendance at the Nipsey Hussle vigil,” Moore said on Twitter. “Reports of shots fired at the vigil do not appear to be accurate. We do have injured in the chaos and are attempting to restore order.”
Hussle was shot and killed Sunday in front of one of his businesses in South Los Angeles, where he lived and worked as a community activist. The Los Angeles Police Department announced Tuesday they are seeking Eric Holder, 29, on suspicion of killing Hussle and wounding two others in the shooting Sunday night in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood.