One man was killed and three others wounded after a gunman opened fire at NY’s Irving Plaza where rapper T.I., right, was scheduled to perform on Wednesday night.
Ronald McPhatter, 33, suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, according to the NY Daily News.
The injured included Maggie Heckstall, 26, who was shot in the leg, and Christopher Vinson, 34, who was shot in the chest. Both victims were transported to Bellevue Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.
Police say chaos erupted at about 10 p.m., with a brawl in the green room above the stage at the Union Square venue. Witnesses say one of the combatants produced a handgun and started shooting inside the crowded green room.
Johnny Wilkins, 28, a barber for one of the artists, told the News he was in the packed green room when the fight broke out.
“It was a fight over a push, it was over some b——-,” Wilkins told the News. “It was like 50 or 60 people in the VIP room. It was crazy. It’s crazy more people didn’t get shot.”
Rappers Maino and Uncle Murda were performing on stage when the sound of rapid gunfire sent concert goers scrambling for the exits.
An employee at the venue told the Daily News the gunplay started as beef between associates of Maino and rapper Troy Ave.
Rapper Troy Ave, 30, of Crown Heights, was shot in the leg. He was driven to NYU Langone Medical Center in an SUV, sources told the News.
The gunman was credentialed with all access to the VIP backstage area, and the victims were all credentialed guests or performers.
“One guy got shot in the chest right in front of me,” Tiffany Smallwood, 22, of Harlem, told the News. “Everyone was running, it was crazy.”
Kirk Elphage, 41, of Harlem, said “People were using each other for shields. It was unbelievable.”
T.I., who was scheduled to perform later that night, was not in the green room when the shooting occurred.
The concert was canceled and the venue was placed on lockdown as police interviewed witnesses and gathered video from smartphones.
Photos: Sam Costanza / New York Daily News, WENN.com, Hot 97
