19 hospitalized after ‘intentional’ gas attack at Midwest FurFest
The Midwest FurFest, which brings together hundreds of “furries,” was put on hold this weekend when 19 were hospitalized for chlorine gas inhalation.
According to The Chicago Tribune, thousands were evacuated from a suburban Hyatt after authorities received reports of a noxious odor.
Hazardous Material technicials discovered “a high level of chlorine gas,” which caused 19 people to experience “nausea, dizziness and other medical problems.” They determined the gas was coming from the ninth floor stairwell and it appeared to be an “intentional act.”
A person in town for FurFest said the experience was scary — but mostly confusing.
“At first I thought it was a fire becuase there were fire trucks and everything, but no, no fire. And so we were all outside until we got to go and stay in this other building that looked like a gigantic garage and stayed there for like 3 hours,” a person with the “fursona” of Żwëlxiå said on Instagram. “But then after the 3 hours we all got to go back into the convention building and everything was okay again… I heard that a group of people set off some kind of chemical and even a few people had to go to the hospital. It was scary.”
It’s unclear whether anyone remains hospitalized. Local police are treating the incident as a criminal matter.
