Stampede at religious ceremony in Liberia kills 29 people

By JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH
Associated Press

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Officials in Liberia say that at least 29 people in Liberia, including 11 children and a pregnant woman, have died in a stampede of worshippers at a Christian ceremony in a densely populated area of the capital, Monrovia. Police spokesman Moses Carter told The Associated Press that the stampede erupted when a gang of thugs armed with knives attacked some of the hundreds attending the ceremony at about 9 p.m. on Wednesday night. He said that one person has been arrested. The bodies have been taken to the morgue of Redemption Hospital, close to where the incident occurred in a beach area called New Kru Town. Liberia’s president has declared three days of mourning.