Three people have launched legal proceedings against Live Nation, alleging they were injured in a “stampede” at a US festival caused by false reports of gunfire.

Billboard reports that performances at Lovers & Friends Festival in Las Vegas were briefly halted on 14 May last year when attendees raced from the venue promoted by a “loud noise”.

Claimants James Thomas, Carla Thomas and Aaliyah Aguilar say the promoter “failed to take basic, reasonable steps” to protect them as the “sea of people” surged towards them, “pushing plaintiffs against the other attendees in the festival”.

“Plaintiffs screamed for help from the event organisers and security, but none came,” reads the lawsuit, which alleges the trio were
“pushed, smashed, dragged, kicked, stepped on, trampled and crushed to the ground”.

“Defendants failed to employ adequate, properly trained, monitored, and supervised reasonable security, safety and medical provision measures”

“Defendants failed to employ adequate, properly trained, monitored, and supervised reasonable security, safety and medical provision measures,” continues the suit, which has been filed in Los Angeles. “Defendants failed to provide a safe venue, one that provided adequate signs and warnings that would have guided the crowd into a particular emergency exit route in the event of an alarm or emergency.”

The 2022 festival, which returns to Las Vegas Festival Grounds on 6 May, featured the likes of Usher, Lil Kim, Ne-Yo and Sean Paul.

Live Nation has not commented on the case.

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