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CounterPunch
February
20, 2003
Blame It on Code Orange
Did
Terror Fears Play Role in Chicago Night Club Panic and Deaths?
by RAY HANANIA
Chicago. An apparent fight between two women at a nightclub
on Chicago's South Side started a panic that resulted in the
deaths of at least 21 people, but many people in Chicago are
asking if the panic was escalated by fears of a possible terror
attack and the nation's heightened terror alert.
Although witnesses said the fight continued
to escalate even after security at the club allegedly used pepper
spray and mace to try to break it up, other witnesses said someone
at the club started yelling "Bin Laden. Bin Laden"
on the microphone apparently as a joke to lighten the tense mood.
Other sources said that the phrase "terrorist
attack" was also yelled out as the crowd's fears only increased
with the spread of the pepper spray or mace gases.
When the melee was over, 21 people were
confirmed dead in the tragedy at the Epitome Restaurant/E2 Night
Club, at 24th and Michigan Avenue in a predominantly African
American community on Chicago's South Side. Area hospitals reported
treating at least 50 other people for everything from critical
injuries to asthma-like symptoms.
In statements to the news media, the
owner of the nightclub said: "I will never be able to prove
it, but the fact of the matter is what really caused the panic
was after the pepper spray, somebody started yelling this is
a 'terrorist attack' and 'this is poisonous gas.' ... About 200
or 300 people tried to fit through one door," he said. "When
people see the tape--you are talking about mass hysteria. It
was horrible. When I got there, there were bodies lying in my
place," Kyles said, breaking down.
The melee marks one of the nation's deadliest
stampedes. In December 1991, nine young people were crushed to
death in a gymnasium stairwell while awaiting a celebrity basketball
game in New York. In December 1979, 11 people were killed in
Cincinnati in a crush to get into a concert by The Who.
Police said they hoped to sort through
conflicting reports and possibly review a video taken in the
club that might explain the exact causes of the raucous that
turned deadly. Many of those killed were crushed or smothered
to death as they tried to flee in panic.
Witnesses quoted on local Chicago radio
and TV stations said someone on a loudspeaker or microphone was
yelling "Bin Laden. Bin Laden" as the fight escalated
possibly provoking more fear among the panic-stricken club patrons.
Police are checking into the stories.
Atmosphere
of Terror
The panic deaths come in an atmosphere
where Americans have been warned for more than two weeks to expect
a possible terrorism attacked associated with the recent Muslim
Haj. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge had elevated the nation's
terrorism alert status from yellow to orange, but promised that
the status would be reduced. White House officials said that
the attacks might be aimed at so-called "soft" targets,
or common or non-military locations like shopping malls, subways
and possibly night clubs.
His office also had cautioned Americans
to stock up on water, food supplies, and to buy plastic and duct
tape that was to have been used to "seal" a room in
homes in the event of a chemical or biological attack.
Although the call to purchase duct tape,
a special kind of heavy duty tape, and plastic was ridiculed,
many Americans fearing an attack went to great lengths, often
to the extreme. Many American actually covered their homes, their
windows and rooms in plastic and duct tape.
Ridge and other officials conceded later
that the plastic and duct tape would not prevent deaths in the
event of a chemical or biological attack. But they stuck to their
claims that Americans should be vigilant and observant in case
of gas or chemical attacks.
The claims that someone yelled "Bin
Laden. Bin Laden" during the night club party may have provoked
party-goers' fears.
Chicago police said they are checking
into the reports of the use of pepper spray and mace, and also
into the other allegations. But no official report has been released.
``We will get to the bottom of this,''
said Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard said. ``Right now our
investigation is at full tilt.''
There were reportedly more than 1,500
people in the two-story nightclub when the spray was allegedly
released sometime after 2 a.m. early Monday morning. Reportedly,
the city's building department had allegedly denied a use permit
for the club space in the building.
Witnesses described a frenzied scene
of some people trying to climb through the ceiling, while others
were trampled in the frantic rush for the front door, their faces
and bodies flattened against the glass.
``It appears a disturbance from within
led to a mass chaos where people headed for the door. Most of
the fatalities appear to have been crushed or had injuries due
to suffocation,'' said police Officer Ozzie Rodriguez.
Cory Thomas, 33, told the Associated
Press that he went to the club to pick up two friends. As he
waited outside, he saw people inside the club start to back up
against the glass front door.
``You could see a mound of people. People
were stacking on top of each other, screaming and gagging, I
guess from the pepper spray. The door got blocked because there
were too many people stacked up against it,'' he said. ``I saw
them taking out a pregnant woman,'' Thomas said. ``She was in
bad shape. I saw at least 10 lifeless bodies.''
The building has a downstairs restaurant
called Epitome, and an upstairs area often used as a night club
called E2.
Ray Hanania
is a Palestinian American author and veteran award winning journalist.
Based on Chicago, he is a columnist on Middle East affairs for
Creators Syndicate. He can be reached at www.hanania.com
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