Police appear to shoot “less lethal rounds” to break up LA punk gig
LAPD officers fired what appeared to be “less lethal” (e.g. rubber bullets) rounds to disperse revellers at an underground punk gig on Saturday (May 8).
Police said up to 200 people gathered for the show held below a freeway in LA’s Cypress Park area, however, video footage from the event looks to show several hundreds moshing around a fire pit and listening to local bands.
According to Metal Injection, people came to watch bands Dead City, Barrage, Wacko, N8NOFACE, Section H8, Clorox Dream, Self Sabotage, and Alpha & Omega perform at the outdoors DIY gig.
An LAPD spokesperson told The Los Angeles Times that the force issued a citywide tactical alert to disperse a large crowd after receiving reports of people setting off fireworks and disrupting traffic near the freeway. Officer William Cooper said police found people trying to set up a stage.
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Video clips from the gathering appear to show officers shooting “less lethal” rounds, among other snippets of the crowd enjoying the music.
No arrests were made and there were no reports of injuries, however, posts on social media claim that some attendees were left bruised by rubber bullets.
My friends were there. They told me that the cops couldn’t find a way in so they started shooting rubber bullets down to the crowed. My friend here got hit behind the ear pic.twitter.com/urHooOZEg8
— Diablito (@EL_DIABL1TO) May 10, 2021
At present, outdoor gatherings of a maximum of 100 people are permitted in California’s Los Angeles County, where Cypress Park is located.
In other news, Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl announced last month its summer reopening programme with a 14-week concert series.
It comes as it was revealed this week that the state of California plans to reopen its music venues at full capacity come June 15 as the US continues its recovery from COVID-19.