The Shocktoberfest event at UC Irvine's Bren Event Center to kick-off the men's and women's basketball season was cancelled after a performer jumped off the stage and into the crowd, creating a dangerous situation, a campus official said early Saturday morning.
Students were told to exit the arena Friday night after the second of three rap artists scheduled to perform, Famous Dex, jumped into the audience and the crowd surged toward the stage, prompting university police to declare a dangerous environment and cancel the remainder of the show, according to Tom Vasich, UCI spokesman.
Authorities turned on the lights in the arena and the sell-out crowd of 4,500 was told to leave the facility immediately, Vasich said.
Students gathered outside the facility as Famous Dex drove by, and video showed students jumping onto the hood of the car, banging on windows and climbing onto the roof, the UCI campus newspaper, New University, reported.
A student told the paper a member of the rapper's entourage pulled a gun and shouted at students from the car's sunroof. Campus police issued an alert to students about a man with a gun. An hour later the alert was cancelled with a message saying the vehicle had left the area.
No injuries or arrests were reported, Vasich said.
“Our midliner, Famous Dex, presented us with challenges that escalated out of our control,” Student Services Vice President Dilraj Toor said in a statement.
“We recognize all that went wrong and, as always, are cognizant. We are not going to take this matter lightly, and will work to make things better,” Toor said. “At this time, we are looking into the situation from all aspects to see if a partial refund could be granted.”
