Rash Bar
photo via GoFundMe

Two hospitalized after arson attack at Bushwick club Rash; GoFundMe launched

Bushwick club Rash is closed after sustaining damage in an act of arson that injured two people on Sunday night (4/3). A statement from Rash on Instagram reads:

Hi everyone, we wanted to share some information on what happened yesterday. First off, thank you to everybody who’s reached out over the past 24 hours. It means the world to us that so many of you have offered support.

We only want to share information that is reputable and verified to be true. There’s a lot going around. We’ll make any details available as soon as we can safely do so.

Last night before the party started, someone came into our bar, poured gasoline on the floor causing an explosion that set the bar in flames. He was wearing a dark hoodie and a backpack and immediately ran from the scene. Everyone inside made it out, but two people were brought to the hospital and are in stable condition.

We still don’t know what to make of this cruel act of violence. In only five short months we were privileged to become home to such a talented and vital community of artists. It breaks our hearts that anyone would seek to threaten that for any reason.

At this time we haven’t identified the suspect or any motives but we’re working closely with the authorities to investigate. If anyone has any information that might be useful in the investigation, please share it with us directly (email and DMs are open).

We launched a Gofundme page to support everyone directly affected, our staff who will be out of work for the foreseeable future, and eventually the repair of the space. You can find the link in our bio.

We love you, and we will come back from this.

Rash ❤️

Co-owner Jake Sillen told Resident Advisor that “the fire charred most of the bar area and left the bar’s floors ‘unsalvageable.’ The basement and second floor also suffered damage.”

“Luckily it was earlier in the night,” Sillen continued to RA. “We had an event planned to start less than an hour after this happened. We’re so grateful that it happened at a time when the bar was mostly empty of any customers.”

The event scheduled for that night was CHA0S CTRL, a party set to hold its debut edition with DJ Haram (one half of 700 Bliss with Moor Mother), Vesolo, Lunática and others.

You can donate to the Rash Bar Fire Staff, Medical and Restoration Fund HERE.