On Sunday, April 3, Rash, a queer nightclub in New York City was set on fire in a suspected arsonist attack. The venue has suffered significant damages as a result of this awful crime.
At the time of the fire, there were about half a dozen people inside the queer nightclub, witnesses told Gothamist.
Rash released a statement detailing the terrifying events that took place on their Instagram account saying “Last night before the party started, someone came into our bar, poured gasoline on the floor causing an explosion that set the bar in flames. He was wearing a dark hoodie and a backpack and immediately ran from the scene”
View this post on Instagram
Thankfully “Everyone inside made it out, but two people were brought to the hospital and are in stable condition.” The two women hospitalized are a 25-year-old and 23-year-old who have suffered minor burns to their shoulders and other parts of the body. They have been treated at Wyckoff Hospital.
The queer nightclub also expressed their disbelief at this violent act: “We still don’t know what to make of this cruel act of violence. In only five short months we were privileged to become home to such a talented and vital community of artists.”
The statement then explains that “At this time we haven’t identified the suspect or any motives but we’re working closely with the authorities to investigate. If anyone has any information that might be useful in the investigation, please share it with us directly (email and DMs are open).”
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“It was reported to police that an unknown individual entered the location with a bottle of flammable liquid, poured it on the floor, lit a match and threw it on the fluid causing a fire to ignite and fled”, according to the NYPD. A spokesperson also said that an investigation is currently ongoing and no arrests have been made.
Rash have also opened a Gofundme page to offer support to anyone directly affected by this horrific attack. The page has raised just over 58,000 dollars so far which is a tremendous achievement. Their staff will be out of work for the foreseeable future and they will also need the funds to help repair the club.
Our hearts go out to the team at Rash and the entire LGBTQ+ community of Bushwick. While this incident is still being investigated, make no mistake: anyone who comes into my city looking to spread fear and hatred will pay the consequences.https://t.co/DHv3IIU0NX
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) April 5, 2022
The Mayor of New York Eric Adams tweeted “While this incident is still being investigated, make no mistake: anyone who comes into my city looking to spread fear and hatred will pay the consequences.”
A similar attack took place in the Envy Nightclub in Derry in 2020 causing £250,000 worth of damage.
© 2022 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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