Three people were hospitalized in critical condition on Friday after hundreds of people forced their way into a London concert venue during a performance by Nigerian afrobeat star Asake.
Eight people were taken to hospital after being caught in a crowd trying to enter the O2 Brixton Academy, police said. Initially, the condition of four people was said to be serious. Two less seriously injured people were treated at the scene.
“Emergency services were called on Thursday night after a large crowd tried to enter without tickets,” police said. Video footage shot by spectators shows a crowd of hundreds outside the concert hall and hundreds of people pushing through the doors and running upstairs.
The concert stopped, and a promoter went on stage to tell the audience that they had “broken down the door”.
Metropolitan Police Force officers, ambulance crews, and firefighters arrived and found “several people with injuries”.
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “saddened that this could happen to Londoners in our city.”
He said on social media, “I will not rest until I get the answers my loved ones need and deserve.”
Asake wrote on Instagram on Friday that his “heart goes out to those injured last night” and that he prays for a “speedy recovery”.
He continued: “I still don’t have a full brief from venue management as to what caused the blockage at the entrance to Brixton Academy, but we’re thankful it was all peaceful in the end.”
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The Afrobeats singer apologized for having to cut his concert short and thanked his fans for their “unbelievable love”.
The police force said it would conduct a full investigation into what happened and how officers responded. One piece of footage shows an officer pushing a woman down some stairs at the entrance to the venue.
Metropolitan Police Gold Commander Ade Adelekan said officers who use force “know they must be held accountable for their actions.” He said body-worn video footage of the officers would be studied as part of the investigation into the incident.
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“This is a very sad incident that has left four people seriously ill in hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their families,” he said. And forensics will be.”
Brixton Academy in South London is one of the city’s most famous music venues. Built-in the 1920s as a movie theater, it has a capacity of just under 5,000.