E-2 Tragedy

Photograph of a young Black man with white and blue text surrounding

On February 17, 2003 tragedy struck club dancers in Chicago when a bouncer pepper-sprayed a group of fighting patrons in the overcrowded E-2 nightclub. The result was a panic-driven stampede that left 21 people dead and more than 50 injured. Initial legal investigation of the events leading up to the tragedy was handled at the city-level and focused on the liability of the club owners in the deaths. Club owners had been repeatedly advised by the city that the building was not up to code and kept in business without addressing health and safety violations, notably failing to set safe occupancy limits and, in some accounts, failing to provide patrons with access to emergency exits. The training of club bouncers was also investigated, and local leaders were quoted drawing attention to the quality of training for emergency responders. Chicagoans continued to be critical of the results of the city-level investigation in its aftermath. Surviving family of the deceased were quoted as expressing a lack of closure in their grief. This button reflects the calls for a Federal investigation that emerged from the local tragedy.