On Thursday night, a concert by singer Asake at the 02 Brixton Academy in London ended in tragedy when a crush occurred, leaving several people critically injured.
On Saturday, it was confirmed that one of the victims, 33-year-old Rebecca Ikumelo, had died as a result of her injuries.
According to a statement from the Lambeth Police, two other women, aged 21 and 23, remain in critical condition.
The news of Ikumelo’s death has sparked an outpouring of grief and outrage on social media, with many expressing their condolences to her family and loved ones.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said, “I am heartbroken by the tragic death of Rebecca Ikumelo – who has very sadly died following the awful events on Thursday night in Brixton. Rebecca had her whole life ahead of her and on behalf of all Londoners, I would like to extend my condolences to her family and loved ones.”
Many people on social media have pointed to problems with security and the behavior of concertgoers as contributing factors in the tragedy.
One person tweeted, “Rebecca Ikumelo should be home with her children prepping for Christmas. She wanted to end the year on a high like the rest of you but because of shi**y security, dumb as police & reckless behavior from people who couldn’t fcking behave, she was robbed of that & her life.”
Others have placed blame on those who attended the concert without tickets, with one person saying, “Everyone that attended that concert without a ticket has blood on their hands. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Rest in peace Rebecca, it should never have ended this way.”
Among those mourning the loss of Ikumelo are those who knew her personally. Temitope Olodo, who claims to be a relative of the deceased, wrote, “My favorite Niece, Rebecca Ikumelo, died today as a result of injuries sustained from #asakemusik concerts. This is a great loss for the Olodo and Ikumelo family. I can’t hold back my tears.”
Author Toni Tone shared a photo of Ikumelo and wrote, “This photo was taken the day I last saw Rebecca. She was a beautiful woman who radiated positive energy and was dedicated to being the best version of herself for her kids. She also did so much to raise awareness of autism spectrum disorder. My heart goes out to her family.”
