Burning Man Death Is Being Investigated as ‘Homicide’

Police are investigating the death of a white adult male who was found in a “pool of blood” at the Burning Man festival on Saturday night, Aug. 30, just as the “Man” effigy was beginning to be torched.

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office Deputy was flagged down at the campsite in Black Rock City at about 9.14pm, where a male was found to be lying on the ground, “obviously deceased,” a statement reads.

Forensics specialists have been called in to help with the collection of evidence and processing the scene in the northern Nevada desert. Officers, at this stage, are treating the death as a homicide.

Although this act appears to be a “singular crime,” all participants “should always be vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances,” reads a statement signed by Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen on Sunday, Aug. 31.

The identity of the man hasn’t been released and no further information will be available at this time, the message continues, “but it will be released as appropriate to provide communication, while still preserving the integrity of the complicated investigation of a crime in a city which will be gone by the middle of the week.”

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, which investigates all deaths that occur in its jurisdiction, will be the primary source of further information.

Burning Man organizers said they are cooperating with law enforcement. “If you are in Black Rock City,” reads a statement from Burning Man Project, “do not interfere with law enforcement activity.”

Earlier, producers of the annual gathering announced that several installations and projects had been destroyed or damaged following a fierce sandstorm. Among them, the Orgy Dome space was closed to the public following damage by heavy winds, and a 50 foot tall art installation called Black Cloud, created by a team of artists from Ukraine, was reportedly damaged.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.