By Tamica Garnett

WHAT started out as an enjoyable night at the Banks DIH Jubilee Fest mega concert ended in chaos and commotion early Sunday morning as several persons sustained injuries after a fight broke out in the middle of the packed-to-capacity- crowd at the Guyana National Stadium.While speculation remains as to the origin of the fight, what is known is that over 20 persons were injured in the melee during which glass bottles were thrown and patrons rushed to get out of harm’s way.

“The fight break loose in the middle of the crowd, not too far away from the VIP gate, and all I know is that bottles being pelt left, right and centre, and the crowd basically run. I heard that some guy pull another guy chain and that is what cause the fight to break out in that way, but I don’t know for sure,” one patron told the Guyana Chronicle.

Many suffered lacerations and were seen exiting the venue bleeding. One young lady reportedly suffered a broken leg. Practically all were treated and sent away.

“It was more a pelt than a fight. There were two guys fighting a ‘lil bit’, and then they started throwing bottles at each other, it was like five against one. It was because of the bottle that people get injured, because when the running and pushing start, persons fell down on the break-up bottles on the ground and that’s really how a lot of persons get cut up,” another patron said.

The fight, which ensued sometime after 03:00 hrs during the performance of famed Jamaican artiste Vanessa Bling, put an end to the event, as the police asked the organisers to shut down the show.

The sheer capacity of the crowd and ensuing pandemonium made it impossible for the police to identify the perpetrators.
Commander for ‘A’ Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, told this newspaper that the police could have only worked to contain the situation and prevent further altercation.

“When the incident occurred, the crowd moved and everybody disappeared into the crowd, so what we did we stopped the party. Thus far, we don’t know who are the people who had the

confrontation; what we know is that bottles were thrown, but that wasn’t part of the agreement when we decided to issue the security pass. They were supposed to pour out drinks in cups, so we felt it was necessary to close off the sport to avoid any other incidents. All persons can say is that they heard an argument and a fight start, nobody didn’t see, nobody could’ve described anybody. We converged all of the police ranks inside and I had another support, in terms of a vehicle load of policemen on the outside to ensure no further escalation,” he said.

Some patrons continued to linger at the venue following the abrupt closure of the event, and were angry with the unknown fighters for ruining what was otherwise an enjoyable night.

“It was so nice, i don’t know why they had to fight, they spoil we concert,” one of the angry patrons said.