Update: Two dead, 20 hospitalized at Mad Decent Block Party’s Maryland stop

by: Allegra Dimperio Aug 2, 2014

Update: The 17-year-old in critical condition has died following a reported overdose at the Mad Decent Block party, bringing the death total to two. The attendee of the festival’s Columbia, M.D. stop was from a young man from Woodbridge, Virginia and will remain unnamed at the family’s request.

Just days after New York prosecutors arrested a man suspected of supplying drugs to one of the fallen Electric Zoo attendees, an electronic event is again in the news with a death toll. One attendee of the Mad Decent Block Party at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland is reported dead, with 20 more hospitalized and one in critical condition. Raleigh, N.C.’s 20-year-old Tyler Fox Viscardi was rushed from the venue and pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Howard County General Hospital, with police suspecting drug use as the cause of death. Drug overdoses are also being cited for the 20 hospitalizations – including one of a 17-year-old boy that remains in critical condition – but no test results have been released to confirm the suspicion or identify what sorts of drugs are to blame. Alcohol also was an issue at the event, where 50 citations were issued for underage drinking.

Though no official statement from the party itself has been released, Mad Decent head Diplo expressed his condolences via Twitter.