Tens of Thousands Face Heat, Violence for Chance at Public Housing Waiting List

Huffington Post reports that while the crowd was initially pegged at over a thousand, it was eventually "estimate[d] that a crowd of 30,000 turned [up]...outside a metro-Atlanta shopping mall in hopes of being placed on a waiting list for federal housing assistance. The large numbers indicate a huge demand, but there is literally no supply...Television station 11Alive reports that the line for Section 8 housing vouchers formed two days ago and grew into the hundreds Tuesday night. People even slept outside the nightclub despite repeated assertions from the housing officials that the line was unnecessary and everyone would receive an application.

Fights broke out, children were reportedly trampled, and police had to stop the crowd from storming a nightclub being used by the East Point Housing Authority in East Point, Ga, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution."

According to the article, "dozens and dozens" of people passed out from the heat.