MORRISON, Colo. — Seven people were taken to a hospital and dozens more were hurt as a hailstorm pummeled concertgoers at Red Rocks Amphitheater Wednesday evening.
According to West Metro Fire, those who were taken to the hospital had non-life-threatening injuries. As many as 80 to 90 more people were treated for injuries at Red Rocks, WMFR wrote on Twitter just before midnight.
Injuries included cuts and broken bones, according to the agency.
The hailstorm pounded the famous Colorado venue ahead of a Louis Tomlinson concert.
Louis Tomlinson fans were forced to run for cover as severe weather and hail moved across Red Rocks. Concertgoer Nikki tweeted that she had several bumps on her head and was bleeding after being hit by hail. #cowx
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) June 22, 2023
📸: @nikkitbfh pic.twitter.com/b9QRt04Thx
Several videos sent into the Denver7 newsroom showed concertgoers fleeing for safety as heavy hail fell.
One person claimed to have suffered a broken finger from being struck by hail. Another shared video with Denver7 of the moment he hid under a folding table to avoid the hail storm. A separate video showed a thick blanket of hail that looked like snow on the grounds of the venue late in the evening.
A concertgoer says her finger was broken by hail that moved across Red Rocks Wednesday evening. Her windshield was also damaged.
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) June 22, 2023
📸: @MyLoveLoueh pic.twitter.com/pngMGpv76h
"We were huddled down and there was so many people just trying to get through or cover themselves. And we didn't even realize until we were trying to leave that we didn't have our keys and everything was getting washed away because it was so bad," Marissa and Kellie, two concertgoers said, told Denver7.
Tomlinson, formerly with beloved boy band One Direction, was set to take the stage Wednesday. The show was pushed back at least twice due to the weather.
"They gave a warning real quick. They were like 'there's severe, severe, severe weather. You should head to your cars, could be including hail. T minus 10 seconds. People were walking down as fast as they could, and this hail starting pelting everyone in the head," Marissa and Kellie said.
At 10:25 p.m., Red Rocks said the show was officially postponed. The venue said it would have more information for ticket holders soon.
Tonight’s show has officially been postponed. Please be safe exiting the amphitheatre - we’ll have more information for ticket holders soon
— Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre (@RedRocksCO) June 22, 2023
"All of a sudden, people started running. They were tripping over each other, screaming in agony. We were trying to run for cover. It was like a movie. We have so many goose eggs; we have bruises on ourselves; babies were crying. It was scary," Marissa and Kellie described.
Tomlinson said in a tweet he hopes everyone is OK and is "sending you all love."
Devastated about the show tonight, hope everyone’s ok, I’ll be back! Even though we didn’t play the show I felt all of your passion! Sending you all love!
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) June 22, 2023
Severe weather swept across a large swath of the state throughout the afternoon and evening hours Wednesday. Multiple tornadoes and large hail were spotted on the eastern plains.
"We tried to get to the gate so we could get to our car. But they closed the gate, I guess for flooding, so we didn't get swept down the hill. And so we were all just trying to- yeah, we were all just huddled around each other," August Lowem, another concertgoer told Denver7.
A friend of Lowem's described going to the concession stand where there were a couple girls having panic attacks. "There was a lot of hysteria," she said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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