The organizers of Electric Zoo cancelled the last day of the festival after two concertgoers died, another was sexually assaulted and several others were placed in intensive care.
Officials believe that the two deaths and many of the illnesses were due to the ingestion of the drug MDMA (ecstasy, molly).
According to NYDailyNews.com, Jeffrey Russ, 23, a graduate of Syracuse University, and Olivia Rotondo, 20, a student at the University of New Hampshire, were taken to area hospitals and pronounced dead within an hour of overdosing.
After Friday's concert, Russ was taken to Harlem Hospital at 3:10 a.m. and died at 3:21 a.m. in Harlem Hospital. Rotondo was taken to Metropolitan Hospital on Saturday at 8:45 p.m. and died at 9:36 p.m. after reportedly taking six hits of MDMA.
MDMA is a popular party-drug that is prevalent at these sorts of events. The drug is often mixed with dangerous fillers, which can cause fatal side effects.
A 16-year-old girl was reported to have woken up under a van in the parking lot of the festival with her pants down and her legs full of bruises and scratches; the NYPD is still investigating the matter.
Four other festivalgoers were hospitalized for apparent drug overdoses, and 31 people were arrested on drug-related charges on Friday and Saturday of the festival, according to NYDailyNews.com's report.
The severity of these events promoted the festival organizers, the NYPD and Mayor Bloomberg to call off the last day of the event to prevent any more tragedies.
A statement released by Bloomberg and the NYPD said: "The Electric Zoo organizers have worked with city officials to reduce health risks at this event, but in view of these occurrences, the safest course is to cancel the remaining day of the event."
The president of NYC Park Advocates, Geoffrey Croft, told the website, "These events are out of control, and they shouldn't be happening on park property."
The founders of the event expressed condolences for the two people who died, saying on their website, "The founders of Electric Zoo send our deepest condolences to the families of the two people who passed away this weekend."
Artists that were scheduled to perform Sunday included Steve Aoki, Armin van Buuren, Zedd, Diplo, Fedde Le Grand and more.
Yesterday, Electric Zoo announced through twitter that Sunday's ticket holders would receive a full refund.
SUNDAY passes will receive automatic 100% refund. For more info, https://t.co/k0SH0G3HBU or call 888-512-SHOW.
— Electric Zoo (@ElectricZooNY) September 2, 2013
The general consensus via Twitter chatter was that many fans were disappointed with the cancelation. Some users offered their condolences to the families and friends of the people who died. Others were angry that a few people ruined the concert for thousands.
Out of 100,000 fans at ezoo 2 died so sad can't even have fun with out being sober rip to you pic.twitter.com/jhwDC4c9FX — ᗺ∃⊥∀∀♛ (@Liz_lumax3) September 2, 2013
I'm not here to preach. But after EZOO, I hope we all take a moment to remember why we're really in this scene. Do what you do responsibly.
— PLURRsuasion (@PLURfectWorld1) September 2, 2013
However, many festivalgoers were able to find other EDM events throughout the city to satisfy their desire to listen and dance to electronic music.
The questions now are: Will there be another Electric Zoo? If so, what sort of regulations will be put into place to prevent tragedies such as these from occurring?
