The Hot 97 Summer Jam 2015 concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey at MetLife Stadium ended with several people arrested after chaos broke out Sunday night. Police needed to wear riot gear and use tear gas to break up the crowd.
State Police spokesman Sgt. Gregory Williams told NorthJersey.com that there were “multiple arrests,” made both inside and outside the stadium. However, he couldn’t give exact numbers. Witnesses said that police also used sound generators at first, but people just gathered together again in the parking lot.
According to the Associated Press, the problem began when people tried to “illegally” enter the stadium, climbing over fences to get in, state police said. Police added that they wanted these people to leave the stadium so that the area wouldn’t be congested when the sold out concert ended.
“People were throwing bottles across the crowd,” Janae Griffin, who wanted to get in but didn’t, told the AP. “We got into a confrontation with a guy who was deliberately trying to vandalize a police car and was just making it worse of a situation than it needed to be.”
Hot 97 issued a statement, noting that the show sold out earlier Sunday evening. For anyone who had tickets but could not get in, they will receive a refund.
“When fans realized tickets were not available at the box office, a small number of people created an unsafe environment, and for the safety of all guests, the New Jersey State Police were on scene to disperse the crowd,” the statement reads. “The gates were closed at that time. No further entry was permitted into the event.”
This morning, Ebro in the Morning host Ebro blamed the incident on “a few idiots.” His co-host, Laura Stylez, added, “You cannot throw bottles at police, notes EW.
Performers at the show includes Meek Mill, Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and Chris Brown.
image via Instagram from Katharine Mateo
image of Kendrick Lamar courtesy of INFphoto.com