Chicago’s Riot Fest has issued a statement confirming the death of one attendee during last month’s three-day event.
On the last day (September 22) of Riot Fest 2024, a 58-year-old man who attended the festival with his friends and family went missing after he left the group he was with to secure a better spot for Slayer‘s headlining set. He wasn’t seen or heard from again until his family were contacted the following day, notifying them that he had been hospitalised for injuries to the head.
Speculation online lead fans to believe that the man, identified as Stephen Shult, was heavily injured in the mosh pit during Slayer’s set. On Saturday (October 4), Riot Fest published a statement on social media confirming that the man passed on October 3 from the injuries he sustained.
The festival wrote: “We are heartbroken to share that a festival attendee passed away yesterday. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly challenging time.”
It continued: “The health, safety, and well-being of our fans and community have always been our top priority. We are aware of the various speculations surrounding this tragedy, including claims that it may be linked to the Slayer crowd. However, we want to clarify that this is not the case. The on-site medical time responded to this medical incident, near the Ferris Wheel area, prior to Slayer’s performance.”
An exact cause of death has not been shared, but has been categorised as complications stemming from trauma to the brain and internal bleeding. Shult’s friend Brian Soto said to the Chicago Tribune that “based on all the scrapes and bruises on his arms and legs and the brain injury…he had to have been trampled.”
Shult’s daughter Jen Eaton, who had attended the festival with him, has since launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for his cremation and celebration of life services. On the campaign page, she wrote that her father had been transported to a hospital following the incident but under a wrong name. A couple of days later, he was recovering “wonderfully” when he suddenly slipped into a natural coma on October 2, and the family decided to take him off life support as doctors confirmed that Shult would have “no decent quality of life” moving forward.
According to Eaton, doctors are unsure what led to the decline in his recover and are still investigating.
You can visit the GoFundMe page here, which will be used to pay off Shult’s hospital bills and prepare for his cremation. Donations are currently under $USD1,000 away from the targeted goal of $8,000.