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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Anthony France

Brixton Academy crush: Two women remain in critical condition after death of mother-of-two Rebecca Ikumelo

Two young women remain in a critical condition after a mother-of-two died in a crowd crush at the O2 Academy Brixton.

Autism awareness campaigner Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, known for her “care, kindness and love” died on Saturday morning.

Ms Ikumelo and two female revellers aged 21 and 23 were among several hurt when ticketless fans tried to force their way into a show by Nigerian singer Asake on Thursday.

The ex-nursing associate in sexual health - who leaves behind sons Jamael and Joelle - was applauded for her TikTok and YouTube posts about parenting an autistic child.

The family of Ms Ikumelo, from Newham, said in a statement: “Rebecca… was an adorable mother of two children who loved working with kids.

“She was well respected in the family for her care, kindness and love.

“Her parents call her Tosin (short for Oluwatosin) meaning ‘Lord is Worthy’.”

Asake spoke of the tragedy at his concert, which was abandoned part-way through, saying he was “devastated”.

In a statement posted on Instagram, the 27-year-old said: “Let us please keep her family in our prayers. I have spoken to them and will continue to do so. I am overwhelmed with grief and could never have imagined anything like this happening.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan added City Hall is in contact with venues and authorities across the capital to make sure “nothing like this happens again”.

The Metropolitan Police said its “urgent” investigation continues as specialist officers support Ms Ikumelo’s family and relatives of two still fighting for life in hospital.

A post-mortem was due to be conducted on Sunday.

The force said footage of an officer pushing a woman from the venue’s steps has been assessed by the Directorate of Professional Standards and there was “no evidence of misconduct”.

Florence Eshalomi, Labour MP for Vauxhall, said: “We need answers about exactly how this happened and safeguards against it in future.

“This will be fully investigated by Specialist Crime detectives, supported by Lambeth Council’s Licensing Unit.”

Singer-songwriter Asake, real name is Ahmed Ololade, was recently nominated for BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2023 award for emerging artists.

Described as “one of the hottest breakout stars from Nigeria”, his debut album features a hit with Grammy Award-winning Burna Boy.

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