Morbid Angel Concert Roof In Illinois Collapse – On Friday night (March 31), shortly before MORBID ANGEL was supposed to perform at the Apollo Theater in Belvidere, Illinois, the venue roof collapsed, killing one person and injuring at least 28 others, five of whom were severely. According to the Belvidere Police Department, 260 people were inside the facility when it collapsed during a strong storm. The theater has a seating capacity of around 1500 people. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning to officials at 7:45 p.m. CT.
According to Belvidere Fire Department chief Shawn Schadle, the roof fell ten minutes later. When police arrived, Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody characterized the scene as “Chaos. Chaos reigns supreme. When officers get on the scene, as well as the fire department and first responders, they do everything they can to keep the commotion under control “He stated. “However, in the end, we go in and try to identify people and save as many people as we can — and bring them to safety as best we can.”
One witness who was inside the theater at the time of the fall told Rockford Scanner (see video below): “It was in the middle of a set. The first band had just finished playing. Individuals were leaving the building to smoke. Then everyone came racing back in because the rain started pouring down heavily. The door they had just exited began to swing back and forth, smashing extremely hard. The building’s electricity went out, and the entire ceiling collapsed on everyone in the front section — directly at the stage, on stage, and the people behind the stage; that sector of the building. It blew me out the escape door when it came down.
I crawled out a hole in the door and fled unscathed; I’m not sure how I accomplished it. But there are definitely casualties, and 50 to a hundred people have been gravely injured. It’s dreadful.”