OUT OF CONTROL

At Least 13 Dead in Peru Stampede as Partiers Tried to Escape COVID Clampdown

Police said over 100 revelers had packed a nightclub before they showed up and the scene turned deadly.

At least 13 people died and three others were injured when police in Lima, Peru, raided a night club they said was open in defiance of COVID-19 regulations. Police say that more than 120 people were in the Thomas Restobar club despite a 10 p.m. curfew and social distance requirements. Despite reports suggesting otherwise, police issued a statement saying they did not use weapons or tear gas to vacate the two-floor venue. Most people died on the club’s single stairway while trying to flee to avoid arrest. Police arrested 23 people. “The Ministry of the Interior profoundly regrets the deaths of 13 people as a consequence of the criminal irresponsibility of an unscrupulous business owner,” police said in a statement.