Police Battle Punk Fans At California Concert

March 5, 2006

The Associated Press has issued the following report:

Rioting broke out Saturday night (March 4) at British punk band concert in San Bernardino, California, injuring several people and destroying two police cars, officials said.

Some in the crowd of about 1,500 at the "British Invasion 2K6" show pelted police with rocks and bottles, forcing the officers to withdraw, police spokesman Sgt. Rick Lindsey said.

Two concertgoers were hospitalized with serious injuries, and two officers suffered minor injuries, he said.

The rioting began when police responded to a report of a stabbing at the National Orange Show Events Center concert. When officers arrived, the crowd became agitated and several fights broke out, forcing the officers to back off, Lindsey said.

After backup arrived, the officers went in again and extracted the stabbing victim and another person who was beaten, Lindsey said. But the violent crowd forced officers to withdraw again.

With additional backup, including Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and Fontana police, officers lined up in phalanx formation to clear the streets and they fired pepper balls and tear gas to move the crowd, Lindsey said.

As the crowd dispersed they destroyed two police cars and vandalized area businesses, Lindsey said. A trash bin was set on fire (photo) and storefront windows were smashed.

The all-day concert was scheduled to feature 22 punk rock bands, including G.B.H. and THE ADICTS.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).