Gilford police are investigating after a New Hampshire woman says she was knocked unconscious and badly injured at a concert at the Bank of NH Pavillion last weekend.
Keene resident Madysen Audet, 22, a graduate of Concord High School, told media outlets this week that she is in the hospital and currently paralyzed from the waist down after being struck in the head by two adults on Aug. 29 after an argument about an alcoholic beverage. Audet was with friends, attending a concert by the internationally-renowned rap artist Pitbull.
Gilford Deputy Chief Kristian Kelley said Thursday that the 9-1-1 call came in just before 10 p.m. as a request for an ambulance, and then turned into a report of assault. Gilford fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene and brought the information to the police’s investigative bureau.
Kelley said investigators have identified a suspect, but are still looking for witnesses, collecting statements and are still “very early on” in the investigation.
“We are following up with that person to see if in fact that lines up with everything that has been told to us so far,” Kelley said. “It’s part of the investigative process.”
Audet’s brother has started a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $30,000 to help her recover. On the page, he said Kelley is being relocated to a hospital in Boston to continue treatment. Many community members have expressed their support for the family on social media, and frustration that an arrest has not yet been made in the case.
Kelley said he is asking the community to be patient while the investigation is underway.
“I told everybody else, when a victim is injured like this we take it very seriously,” Kelley said. “We ask that anybody out there who has any information give it to the Gilford Police Department and be patient while we do our thing.”