Four Corrosion of Conformity fans were stabbed Thursday night in a mosh-pit altercation that quickly escalated into deadly violence during the band's set at Tampa, Florida's Masquerade club.

According to a Tampa police spokesperson, one of the victims was pronounced dead early Friday morning (June 24) at Tampa General Hospital; police have yet to notify the man's family of his death. Police said he was stabbed in the chest and upper body repeatedly, and died from those fatal wounds.

Three other concertgoers suffered injuries — one of them, a female in her early 20s, was rushed to Tampa General, where she remains in critical condition, having suffered stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. The two other victims, both males, were also treated for stab wounds. One of them remains in hospital care and has been listed in stable condition. The other was treated at the scene and sent home.

According to police, witnesses say that at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday night, a squabble between two female fans in the crowded mosh pit quickly absorbed several of those in attendance, and intensified at a rapid pace.

Witnesses told police they noticed a man slowly backing away from the fray, and that he was soaked in blood. The man was identified by witnesses as the deceased. The suspect — described as a white male in his late 20s to early 30s, wearing a white tank top and sporting a shaved head and reddish-brown goatee and moustache — was then seen stabbing three others. When some in the crowd attempted to intervene, police said the assailant antagonistically waved a large knife in front of them.

The suspect managed to flee from the venue before police arrived at the scene.

Homicide detectives with the Tampa Police Department are asking witnesses and other individuals with any information about the incident to come forward.

Corrosion of Conformity, one of the first bands to meld punk and metal elements together, have posted a statement about the stabbings on their Web site: "We are stunned [and] deeply saddened by the brutal stabbings of three people at the Tampa show. We don't have much information at this time. Unofficially, we have heard that one victim didn't make it. In twenty-plus years of gigging, we've never seen anything like this. It's sad that people can't come together for a good time, listening to music, without something tragic happening. We feel for the families of those attacked and wish success to Tampa law enforcement in their quest to solve this pointless crime."

The North Carolina-based band released its eighth album, In the Arms of God, in April.