Report: Police shoot tear gas to disperse concert crowd
Source: AP
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey State Police blocking gates outside of a major hip-hop concert Sunday night at MetLife Stadium had bottles thrown at them by angry people in the crowd who were trying to get inside — some without tickets — and they later used tear gas to try to disperse them, according to officials.
Crowds at the Hot 97 Summer Jam concert became upset when the gates were closed and blocked off by police in riot gear. An armored state police vehicle began blasting a piercing loud noise to try to disperse the crowd and police later deployed tear gas.
Additional troops were sent for "crowd control" and arrests have been made, a police spokesman, Sgt. Gregory Williams, told The Associated Press. State police didn't release details about what measures they used to disperse the crowd.
The disturbance began when crowds of people tried to "illegally" force their way into the sold out event by climbing over fences and forcing their way through security, state police said in a statement Sunday night. Police said they insisted that everyone outside of the gate leave the stadium complex to avoid congestion when the concert ended.
FULL story at link.
State Police respond to disturbances outside the MetLife Stadium where Summer Jam Hot 97 concert was held in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, June 7, 2015. Crowds on Sunday night became upset when the gates were closed and blocked off by police in riot gear, the Asbury Park Press reported. (Tyson Trish/The Record of Bergen County via AP) ONLINE OUT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT; NO ARCHIVING; MANDATORY CREDIT
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/891931ed57b7411b8825ff37843a7416/report-police-shoot-tear-gas-disperse-concert-crowd
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Last edited Mon Jun 8, 2015, 02:05 PM - Edit history (1)
People without tickets should have been sent away once the concert began if they weren't selling tickets at the door!
The disturbance started about 7 p.m., when a fight broke out among concertgoers and police shut the gates to prevent more people from going in...
About 11:15 p.m., as the concert drew to a close, people inside began to file out and expressed shock at the remnants of glass and trash that they were seeing.
ON EDIT: From the MetLife web site:
Parking Lots open at 1:30pm
Festival Village in Lot G from 2:30pm - 6pm
Stadium Gates open at 5:30pm
Summer Jam on the Main Stage starts at 6:30pm
So nobody who got there after 7PM was let in, even with tickets -- for a FIVE-hour concert? Were they selling tickets at the box office? Did Hot 97 announce that the show was sold out and no tickets would be available at the box office? It all depends on when the tickets went on sale.
rockivity
They could have cut the power and told everyone to leave, sending thousands of additional angry fans into the mix. That's what happened after a Slayer concert when fans refused to leave the parking lot after the band had started playing and the riot squad was called in.
rocktivity
Last edited Mon Jun 8, 2015, 03:29 PM - Edit history (2)
Sixty-one people were arrested and 10 troopers sustained minor injuries...The majority of arrests occurred because of concert goers climbing fences and trying to push past security at the MetLife entrance gate, according to a statement from the State Police...
A spokesperson...said..."For ticket holders whose tickets were not scanned, refunds will be offered at the point of purchase," the spokesman said.
(link)
Bum rushing the show? Good way to get trampled to death, kids! But I guess you young 'uns are too young to know about Puff Daddy or The Who...
rocktivity
