ID :
86538
Wed, 10/28/2009 - 10:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/86538
The shortlink copeid
Rapper Akon tried to break up brawlers
(AAP) - US rapper Akon leapt off stage to break up brawlers during his wild Melbourne concert in which two security guards were bashed as fights broke out among fans.
One security guard suffered lacerations and bruising and the other suffered facial
injuries after more than 50 people stormed the entrance to the concert at Melbourne
Park on Monday night.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with affray and assault over the attacks on the
security guards.
Fighting broke out both inside and outside the concert and police said 18 people
required medical treatment, six were hospitalised and six others had come forward to
police saying they were assaulted.
Film footage on YouTube shows Akon among the crowd as he tried to stop the fighting.
He told the audience he had waited two years to be allowed to enter Australia to
perform and he wasn't going to let anyone "f--- up" the gig.
His promoter Dwayne Cross told News Ltd that Akon "cared about the people that were
down there" and believed he was in the best position to create a distraction and
stop the brawling.
Ambulance Victoria ferried six people to hospital during the night, including a
21-year-old woman suffering from nausea who had vomited inside the arena.
A spokeswoman said three men, aged between 22 and 54, were taken to Royal Melbourne
Hospital with injuries incurred in assaults including one man with a bleeding eye.
Another man, aged 25, fractured his ankle when he tried to jump a barrier inside the
arena.
The spokeswoman said St John's Ambulance staff inside the arena treated a lot more
people.
One man, who went with his 18-year-old wheelchair-bound brother, said he had wanted
to leave the stadium after the situation became unsafe but was stopped by security
staff.
"It was in lockdown," he told Fairfax Radio.
"A couple of fights had broken out and younger kids - drinking, over age but 18-19
and can't handle it - they've got into a few scuffles."
Akon laughed and smiled but ignored reporters' questions at Melbourne Airport on
Tuesday morning on his way to perform at Sydney's Acer Arena on Tuesday night.
He courts a controversial image with his debut single Locked Up coming off his first
album Trouble, which was followed by Konvicted.
The rapper previously had trouble entering Australia because of his convictions and
jail time in the US for drug and theft offences.
Victoria's shadow attorney-general Robert Clark said the incident was another
example of violence spiralling out of control in Melbourne.
"People can't even go to a concert without violence breaking out," he told reporters.
"It's now getting to the stage where overseas visitors are remarking on the fact
that Melbourne's not safe."
One security guard suffered lacerations and bruising and the other suffered facial
injuries after more than 50 people stormed the entrance to the concert at Melbourne
Park on Monday night.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with affray and assault over the attacks on the
security guards.
Fighting broke out both inside and outside the concert and police said 18 people
required medical treatment, six were hospitalised and six others had come forward to
police saying they were assaulted.
Film footage on YouTube shows Akon among the crowd as he tried to stop the fighting.
He told the audience he had waited two years to be allowed to enter Australia to
perform and he wasn't going to let anyone "f--- up" the gig.
His promoter Dwayne Cross told News Ltd that Akon "cared about the people that were
down there" and believed he was in the best position to create a distraction and
stop the brawling.
Ambulance Victoria ferried six people to hospital during the night, including a
21-year-old woman suffering from nausea who had vomited inside the arena.
A spokeswoman said three men, aged between 22 and 54, were taken to Royal Melbourne
Hospital with injuries incurred in assaults including one man with a bleeding eye.
Another man, aged 25, fractured his ankle when he tried to jump a barrier inside the
arena.
The spokeswoman said St John's Ambulance staff inside the arena treated a lot more
people.
One man, who went with his 18-year-old wheelchair-bound brother, said he had wanted
to leave the stadium after the situation became unsafe but was stopped by security
staff.
"It was in lockdown," he told Fairfax Radio.
"A couple of fights had broken out and younger kids - drinking, over age but 18-19
and can't handle it - they've got into a few scuffles."
Akon laughed and smiled but ignored reporters' questions at Melbourne Airport on
Tuesday morning on his way to perform at Sydney's Acer Arena on Tuesday night.
He courts a controversial image with his debut single Locked Up coming off his first
album Trouble, which was followed by Konvicted.
The rapper previously had trouble entering Australia because of his convictions and
jail time in the US for drug and theft offences.
Victoria's shadow attorney-general Robert Clark said the incident was another
example of violence spiralling out of control in Melbourne.
"People can't even go to a concert without violence breaking out," he told reporters.
"It's now getting to the stage where overseas visitors are remarking on the fact
that Melbourne's not safe."
