One suspect arrested after couple assaulted outside Elton John concert
Police in Los Angeles have arrested one suspect in an alleged assault case, after a couple was jumped outside of an Elton John concert.
The alleged incident occurred shortly after John’s first show in LA, which took place last Thursday (November 17) at Dodger Stadium; the artist has since performed a further two shows at the stadium.
As originally reported by TMZ, a man and woman who attended the concert – both unnamed and said to be in their 60s – were accosted by a group of attackers in the stadium’s parking lot. It’s said that the couple were in the process of leaving when a woman punched a side mirror on their car, leading the man to confront her. It’s alleged that the attacker attempted to hit the man but was blocked, before two other men stormed the victim and “started wailing on him”.
One video posted by TMZ shows a man in a grey jumper being thrown to the ground by one in a blue shirt, before a third man (wearing a black cap) knocks him unconscious. According to the tabloid, the man’s wife exited their car to assist him, however she was “body slammed to the ground” by members of the same group that assaulted her husband. She too was allegedly left unconscious.
A second video shows the alleged attackers fleeing the car park, with the aforementioned man in the cap ushering a woman into a car. When he noticed that he’s being filmed, the man appears to become defensive. In another shot, the woman he was with can be seen conversing with police; TMZ says that woman was allegedly involved in the attack, but was let go by police.
It’s said that the attacked woman eventually drove herself and her husband to a hospital – after “it took far too long for any first-responders and/or stadium security to arrive” – where the latter was admitted.
In the wake of the incident, a daughter of the couple (who was not present at the concert) posted on Instagram that “four men and two women randomly jumped” her parents, noting that “many [people] witnessed and recorded but no one helped them”. She went on to write that the attacked man was kept in hospital overnight with “fractures and head injuries”.
(@thesweettooth)According to The Associated Press, one person has now been arrested in connection to the alleged assault; their identity has not been made public.
In a statement given to the publication yesterday (November 20), officer Rosario Cervantes said the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating the case of “battery and vandalism”, noting: “We have one arrest that has been made. However that’s all we have at the moment.”
The couple’s aforementioned daughter later shared in a second post on Instagram: “My sister and I would like to thank all 1.7 million of you supporting our social media today. If it wasn’t for everyone’s tireless effort we wouldn’t have been able to get this far.”
The North American leg of Elton John’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour was completed with yesterday’s show in LA, which was streamed live on Disney+ alongside sets from Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile.
The run will continue in January when John heads to Australia, where he’ll play seven shows before rolling on to New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and Europe. The final leg of the tour is slated to finish in July, when John will perform two shows in Stockholm, Sweden (which were rescheduled from last October).
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Ellie Robinson
NME
