Mass casualty incident declared at Black Bike Week concert in South Carolina: reports

Authorities are investigating after a concert at Black Bike Week in Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, descended into chaos Saturday night, resulting in multiple injuries, according to local reports.

The annual Memorial Day weekend event, which drew in thousands of bikers and motorcycle enthusiasts, many from the Black community, turned into a chaotic scene with multiple people injured after an apparent argument led to a stampede, The Sun News reported.

Event attendee Hilton Dewitt told the Sun News there may have been an argument on the street around 1 a.m. that caused concert goers to rush toward the stage.

He said ambulances then came and police shut the event down.

Myrtle Beach Scanner reported the incident on Facebook and said 10 people were sent to the hospital. Authorities have not confirmed the number of people injured.

“They started panicking,” Dewitt said. “It was a stampede.”

The Atlantic Beach Bike Festival has been hosted at Atlantic Beach and other nearby beaches over Memorial Day weekend for years and draws in a large crowd of bikers, according to The Sun News.

This year’s event is being held from Friday to Monday, according to the report. As of Sunday morning it appeared some vendors were packing up, according to The Sun News. It was not immediately clear if the event would continue Sunday and Monday.

Atlantic Beach Interim Police Chief Carlos Castillo told ABC 15 that no information regarding the online reports could be released at this time.

Atlantic Beach police did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment Sunday morning.

This is a developing story…