Beyoncé concertgoers were caught in a chaotic stampede at Atlanta’s Vine City MARTA station on Monday night (July 14) after a woman’s scream over an insect triggered panic, sending people scrambling for safety and leaving nine injured.
The incident unfolded just after the final show of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, when a woman reportedly spotted a bug, screamed and bolted.
Her reaction set off a chain of confusion in the packed station, with others running in fear, unsure of what caused the commotion.
“The initial reports were that a woman was scared of an insect and screamed and ran away from it, and others panicked not knowing what was happening,” a MARTA spokesperson explained.
As the crowd surged toward the escalators, the moving staircase suddenly accelerated, then came to a jarring stop. Riders lost their balance and tumbled, piling onto one another in a heap of sequins, boots and panic.
Nine people were hurt in the melee. One person suffered a broken ankle, seven others were treated at hospitals for scrapes and bruises, and one declined medical attention.
Footage from the scene showed several concertgoers—many still dressed in Cowboy Carter-inspired outfits—being wheeled away on stretchers and in wheelchairs.
Beyoncé Unreleased Music Stolen In Atlanta
The stampede capped off a turbulent week for Beyoncé in Atlanta. Just days earlier, on Tuesday (July 8), her team suffered a major security breach when thieves broke into a rental vehicle and stole unreleased music and confidential tour materials.
Among the items taken were laptops, designer clothing, Apple AirPods Max headphones and, most critically, five thumb drives and hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé tracks, show footage and both past and future set lists.
Investigators tracked the stolen electronics using built-in location services and reviewed surveillance footage from the garage.
They recovered partial fingerprints and identified a possible suspect vehicle—a red 2025 Hyundai Elantra. By Tuesday (July 15), an arrest warrant had been issued, though no arrest had been made and the stolen materials remained missing.