Mad Decent Block Party organisers release statement regarding Maryland deaths

On Friday 1st August, two people were reported dead and twenty hospitalised following a Mac Decent Block Party at Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia.

One man, aged 20, was taken to Howard County General Hospital, where he died of a suspected drug overdose. A second person - aged 17 - was reported dead the following day following hospitalisation.

Performers at the event included Diplo, Sleigh Bells and Flux Pavilion.

Diplo - one of the Mad Decent Block Party founders - addressed the tragedies on Twitter. “Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by yesterday’s event. we are truly devastated,” he wrote.

This weekend Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P., released a statement: “Our hearts go out to the family as they face the unimaginable. As a parent, it makes me horribly sad beyond words to think of a tragedy like this. We can spend every minute of the day making perfect sense to our children regarding the obvious perils of drugs, but sometimes it is impossible to convince them that this is relevant to their world.”

A statement on the official Mad Decent Block Party events page says the following: “We were shocked and saddened when we heard the news from yesterday’s event at Merriweather Post Pavillion in Maryland. Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by this. Right now, we are waiting along with everyone else for more information.”