Bethlehem’s Musikfest resumes one day after a shooting sent crowds fleeing

Hours after a late-night shooting sent crowds scattering, Bethlehem’s Musikfest resumed Sunday afternoon with a lineup featuring Puerto Rican singer Olga Tañón and Virginia-based rockers RDGLDGRN.

Police described the shooting, which occurred about 11 p.m. Saturday as the festival was wrapping up, as an “isolated incident,” according to the Allentown Morning Call. Festival goers described a “stampede”-like scene as crowds fled the area near Main and Lehigh Streets.

“There was an isolated incident at Musikfest and the festival was shut down as a precaution for the safety of the patrons,” the Bethlehem City Police said in a statement released Saturday night. “There is no known continuing threat to the public.”

The police have declined to provide any additional details about the shooting.

» READ MORE: A risk of gunfire, threats, and stampedes: The future of big outdoor festivals in Philadelphia and elsewhere

The shooting comes amid rising concerns about the safety of outdoor events featuring large crowds. In Philadelphia, hundreds fled the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on July 4 after two police officers were struck by what officials later said were likely celebratory gunshots fired up to a mile away just as the fireworks show began.

A week later, organizers of West Fest Block Party at Sayre Recreation Center canceled the event due to fears about the city’s gun violence. About 340 Philadelphians have been killed this year, while 1,400 have been shot and injured.

Not to be deterred, the Give Back Festival in Nicetown, meanwhile, took place on Friday and Saturday this weekend. The event, which has taken place annually for 20 years, features music, street performers, boxing matches, and other attractions.

Zakariyya Abdur Rahman, president and CEO of the Nicetown Community Development Corporation, said organizers “felt the need to do it.”

“We cannot fall into the shadows of despair because of the issues that our community faces, the perils of violence,” he said. “We felt that we needed to go forward with it to show that we can overcome anything as a community.”

Although the Nicetown event went off successfully, during those two days in Philadelphia police reported at least 15 more shooting victims, including three homicides. Among the injured was a pregnant woman who was in critical condition after being shot in the head.

The number of homicides in Philadelphia this year is keeping pace with last year’s record-setting total of 562 killings. As of Saturday, the number of homicides in 2022 was 2% higher than at the same point last year, according to the Police Department website.