West News Wire: On Friday night, the Apollo Theater in Belvidere, Illinois, experienced a ceiling collapse, according to authorities.
At least 28 more people were taken to the hospital, five of whom had serious wounds, according to the authorities.
According to Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle, the venue was home to a heavy metal concert and had about 260 people inside, including employees and performers.
The reason why the roof fell wasn’t instantly clear to Schadle. But according to him, the National Weather Service alerted authorities to a tornado threat at 7:45 p.m. CT. Ten minutes later, he claimed, the ceiling gave way.
According to Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woodley, when officers arrived at the scene of the event, there was “absolute chaos” inside the structure.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is “closely monitoring” the incident, he wrote on Twitter.
“I’ve been in touch with officials for updates and to direct any available resources we can,” he wrote.
