Rapper egged on crowd as fights broke out

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - We're learning more about what was going on inside the Town Ballroom the night two patrons were stabbed inside.

Both stabbing victims are in their 20's. Anthony Marshall is stable, but Clayton Webster is fighting for his life and now, his family wants answers.

There had been 36 security guards working the rap concert at the Town Ballroom, according to owner Artie Kwitchoff, but after the first stabbing incident, the show continued on. The second stabbing victim, 23-year-old Clayton Webster, suffered three knife wounds that left him critically injured. He's an amateur boxer who was scheduled for a Golden Gloves fight on March 18th, according to his mother, Patti Webster-Fleming.

"He trained so hard for this fight. He was an innocent victim. He didn't do nothin' to nobody. A real good kid, and for this to happen to my son, it hurts," said Webster-Fleming.

Clayton's stepfather, Carl Fleming, questioned, "They got so much security in this place, how did they get a knife in there?"

Clayton's cousin, Jarmar Norton, said he was punched in the head before his cousin was stabbed. He said rapper Lloyd Banks was egging on the crowd, which Norton said caused five or six fights to break out on the dance floor.

"Cursing, making fun of our town, just getting everybody riled up to the point where it's chaos," recalled Norton.

The two stabbing incidents at the Town Ballroom Lloyd Banks concert are making headlines in national hip-hop websites "Urban Magazine" and "Hip Hop Wired." The stabbings come less than seven months after the massacre outside the City Grill, when four people were shot to death and four were wounded. At least one Buffalo lawmaker is considering new requirements for club owners.

Ellicott District councilmember Rev. Darius Pridgen said, "May require for there to be a certain amount of security personnel on hand in the venue and outside the venue during some of these events."

Buffalo Police would also have to be notified when a patron is ejected from a club. Not everyone believes new regulations are the way to go.

Shea's Buffalo President Tony Conte said, "Never like to see requirements, because when they do, you'll always find the requirements create a problem somewhere else."

Buffalo Entertainment District president Jay Manno said, "Should the police be called every time there's a fight, push and shove? Probably not. But do they get the call? Sure."

Buffalo lawmakers are asking club owners and promoters to meet with them on March 24th. Police are being asked to issue a report on the number of downtown incidents and how they were handled.