| Date | December 28, 1991 |
|---|---|
| Venue | City College of New York gymnasium |
| Location | City College of New York, Hamilton Heights, Manhattan |
| Coordinates | 40°49′10″N 73°57′00″W / 40.8194°N 73.9500°W |
| Type | Crowd crush |
| Deaths | 9 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 29 |
The City College "stampede" was a crowd crush event that occurred on December 28, 1991, in the City College of New York gymnasium during a charity basketball game headlined by hip hop celebrities Puff Daddy and Heavy D. Outside of the event, crowds were able to break at least one glass door leading into the gymnasium lobby. The crowd then rushed the lobby and down a short staircase that led to the gymnasium. However, a set of doors at the bottom of the stairs opened inward into the lobby, not outward into the gymnasium, and nine people were crushed to death at the bottom of staircase, while 29 others were injured.[1] The nine people killed were from various boroughs in New York City. Their ages varied as well. Jabaal Rainey was 15, and from Harlem, which was not too far from the celeb event. According the his sister, Jennifer, "he didn't really want to go.". Leonard Nelson Jr., 17, from The Bronx, Laytesha Heard, 19, from The Bronx, Sonya Williams, 20, from New Rochelle, Dawn McCaine, 20, from Brooklyn, Yul Dargan, 24, from The Bronx, Charise Ann Noel, 26, from Brooklyn, Darren Brown, 28, from The Bronx, and Dirk Swain, 20, from Parkchester, NY. No criminal charges were filed following the incident, although multiple wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits were filed.[2]
According to The New York Times, "Dirk Swain had cheated death once this year, surviving a gunshot wound to the head" when a fraternity party in Virginia turned violent last September."[3] David Gonzalez, a writer for the New York Times, continued to report that "...Throughout the autumn, the 20-year-old college student recuperated among friends and family in Westchester. Perhaps it was the restlessness of a young man wanting to get on with life, or his love of athletics, that lured him to the rap-star-studded basketball game at City College Saturday night. There, death evened the score."
A documentary titled "No Way Out" was produced by Dirk Swain's younger brother, Jason Swain, that can be found on Vimeo on Demand, that details the event and the many stars who attended. A short film titled City Jewelz and 6 Train to Parkchester are other productions made to describe what actually happened before and after the event took place on December 28, 1991.
See also
References
- ↑ "Nine killed in a stampede outside a hip-hop celebrity basketball game". history.com. A&E Television Networks. November 16, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ↑ Sullivan, John (March 24, 1998). "Rap Producer Testifies on Fatal Stampede at City College". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ↑ Gonzalez, David (December 30, 1991). "Stampede at City College – 8 Lives That Came Together, Then Were Lost in a Crush". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved October 7, 2023.