19 Hospitalized, 1 Dead After Merriweather Concert: Police

Twenty people, including one who died, were taken to local hospitals Friday night from the Mad Decent Block Party at Merriweather Post Pavilion, officials said.

In addition, officers issued 50 underage drinking citations and arrested three people at the concert, according to a statement from the Howard County Police Department.

Authorities suspect the hospitalizations were related to drug overdoses and are working to determine what substances the individuals had taken, the statement said.

Tyler Fox Viscardi, 20, of Raleigh, NC, died from a suspected drug overdose after 9 p.m. once the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services took him to the Howard County General Hospital, police said.

Another individual, a 17-year-old man from Woodbridge, VA, is in critical condition at the hospital from what police said was also a suspected drug overdose; approximately 18 others were taken to local hospitals as well, according to the statement from police.

Police also arrested one person for assaulting an officer, another for domestic assault and a third for possession of marijuana, the statement said.

The police department reported that it staffs concerts at Merriweather with uniformed and undercover officers and encouraged people to be responsible event-goers by not participating in illegal drug consumption and underage drinking.

On Saturday, the Mad Decent Block Party continues in Norfolk, VA, according to the Daily Press, which described the event as an “electronic dance party.”

The Howard County Police Department said other areas where the block party has traveled have reported similar  instances of drug-related illnesses.