An Arizona woman who did not want to be identified is recovering after a brutal beating over the weekend at a sold-out concert in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium that was captured on video and has since gone viral.
The frightening ordeal unfolded Saturday night after the victim and her fiancé drove hours from Phoenix to see the Grammy Award winning electronic band RÜFÜS DU SOL.
It’s unclear what time exactly the incident unfolded, but the victim told KTLA that when she and her friend got to their seats, they accidentally spilled a bit of a drink on a man in front of them.
“We apologized immediately, but yelled that it was intentional and ran off, leaving his companion behind,” she told The Festive Owl, a music news outlet who first reported the woman’s story. “We apologized to her and thought it was over.”
Unfortunately, unidentified concertgoer returned about a half hour later, began screaming at the victim and her friends, threatening violence and while she said she tried deescalating the situation by apologizing again, the man punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious and causing significant bleeding.
In footage of the violent attack, the man is seen launching into a group of people and throwing at least five punches, while someone behind him attempts to pull him out of the crowd.
At one point in the video, the victim can be seen sitting on the ground, head tilted down as her fiancé, who also reportedly took some blows to the head, attempted to shield her.
No one is coming to a concert for that interaction,” Ethan Dubone, who was at the show that night, told KTLA. “Everyone is coming for a good time.”
Since the footage has gone viral, many have complained that the venue did a less than stellar job of managing the sold-out stadium show.
“Among the long laundry list of complaints was crowd crushing in tunnels, people pushing in overcrowded stairs, aggressive drunk people, arguments, fans blocking exits, incredibly long shuttle lines, and, sadly, assault,” the independent Los Angeles-based music blog Grimy Goods reported.
Another concert attendee that evening was Christina Molina who, along with her daughter, was seated a few rows behind the victim.
“I literally had people pressed up against my back, all of them blocking that entire walkway,” she told KTLA. So, crowd control was nonexistent.”
Not only were the aisles jam packed, according to Molina, she said she saw people openly doing drugs and wonders if crush of the huge crowd mixed with drug and alcohol use was a factor in the violent beating.
“I’ve never seen any venue that has allowed the people to stand there in the walkways. It’s a hazard,” she added. “There were multiple security vendors working the venue. It wasn’t just one vendor, it was multiples, and the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing.”
As for the victim who is back home in Arizona, she said she is seriously bruised and sore but expects to fully recover. She has also been in contact with police, who confirmed that they are actively trying to identify him.
KTLA has reached out to Rose Bowl officials to ask about venue security policies and is awaiting a response.
Anyone who recognizes the man in the video is encouraged to call the Pasadena Police Department. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.
The post Arizona woman beaten unconscious by man during concert at Rose Bowl appeared first on KTLA.
