Asake Concert: Crowd Unrest leaves four people in Critical Condition

There was a crowd unrest at the Asake concert in Brixton that has left four people in critical condition. The police said a large crowd tried to get into the concert venue without tickets.

According to Sky News, people at the 02 Academy were locked outside the venue in freezing temperatures, which led to people trying to force their way in. The concert was said to have been canceled part-way through with fans being told “the reason we have to stop the show is because they have breached the doors.”

“You’ve got 3,000 people who have broken the doors outside and because of security the police have asked us to close the show” The message was met with booing from fans before it continued “This is nothing to do with us… there are people who’ve breached the door. They have broken in and security are trying to help with it.”

In a statement released by the Metropolitan Police Department, the London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade were summoned to the venue at around 9:30pm on Thursday. A total of eight people were taken to the hospital, while four remain in severe condition due to crushing-related injuries. Medics attended to others who were hurt at the scene.

Met Police Gold commander, Ade Adelekan said “this is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.”

“A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night. The scene will be examined by specialist officers, CCTV will be viewed, every witness that we can make contact with will be spoken to and all other lines of enquiry will be followed.”

He assured the local community that officers will remain to “provide reassurance”, and that “urgent investigation” has been launched, although no arrests made. He added “I am aware of video being shared on social media. I would ask people to be sensible about what they share, and not to post material that will be upsetting to those affected by this incident.”

“Where force has been used by police officers, those officers know they have to be accountable for their actions. The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards will view all material, including body-worn video footage from the officers at the scene.”

“In relation to a clip being widely shared, I can confirm that no police dogs were deployed to the location.” He urged those with mobile phone footages that may assist the investigation to contact the police.