Chicago threatens charges after club deaths

Chicago officials today threatened to seek criminal charges against the night club where 21 people were killed in a stampede, saying the owners violated a court order by keeping the club open.

Authorities say the club was ordered to shut down because of safety violations, including failure to provide enough exits.

“The management of this business is well aware of this court order,” Chicago fire Commissioner James Joyce said.

A lawyer for the club quickly responded to the claims, saying his client had a deal to stay open.

The club was the site of one of the deadliest stampedes in recent memory.

Hundreds of people who were packed into the second floor E2 club on the city’s South Side stampeded down a stairwell after bouncers broke up a fight and someone sprayed pepper gas or Mace.

A lawyer for the club operators suggested someone might have shouted a warning about a terrorist attack.

In the resulting panic, clubbers found themselves squashed in the stairway and flattened against the glass doors. Twenty-one people died and 57 were injured.

“We were literally piled from the top to the bottom of those steps, on top of people, not able to move with people constantly pushing,” said witness Lemont James, who suffered a dislocated jaw.

Police Superintendent Terry Hillard said the club owned an elaborate CCTV set-up and said police were studying the videos to determine exactly what happened.

The club was ordered to close its second floor operations in July after investigators found 11 alleged building code violations, ranging from failure to submit architectural plans and engineering reports to failure to provide enough exits.

But a lawyer for Le Mirage, Andre Grant, said a deal had been reached in October under which the club would remain open. Another court hearing was scheduled for next month, he said.

“The city is 100% aware of it, and in fact management has asked consistently and repeatedly the city to assist with crowd control,” he said.

At a prayer vigil outside the club last night, David McGraw leaned against the window and wept for his daughter, 24-year-old Latorya McGraw, who had died on the other side of the glass.

“I’m just sad and I’m hurt,” he said. “It is tragic.”