"Violence And Chaos" At METALLICA's Bogota Gig Last Night
March 11, 2010, 14 years ago
Colombiareports.com is reporting:
Violence and chaos broke out around Bogota's Simon Bolivar park Wednesday night, when hundreds of frenzied fans tried to crash heavy metal band METALLICA's first Colombian concert in eleven years.
Three people were stabbed, a policeman injured, more than 50 people were arrested and property was vandalized and destroyed, as ticketless fans tried to storm the venue in order to catch a glimpse of their rock-god idols.
The policeman and three civilians were hospitalized for their injuries.
Radio Santa Fe reported that prior to the concert, there were posts on social networking site Facebook inciting fans to crash the Metallica concert.
Estimates of audience numbers by Colombian media sources oscillate wildly between 20,000 and 70,000.
Authorities implemented security measures as heavy as the band's music, with some 1,500 police employed to stand guard during the event, as well as four tanks and several police trucks.
There were no reports in the Colombian media that the tanks had been deployed.
