Nigerian Afrobeats artist Asake was forced to halt his sold-out performance at the O2 Academy Brixton in the middle of it due to large throngs of people trying to enter without tickets.
Fans without tickets reportedly attempted to break through the venue’s doors on Thursday night, causing the sold-out performance to end midway through.
A crush at the south London performance venue left four people gravely injured and four more hospitalized, according to police on Friday.
According to the Metropolitan police, “Detectives are investigating the circumstances which led to four people sustaining critical injuries,”
According to the Metropolitan Police, at around 9.30 p.m. on Thursday, police, the London Ambulance Service, and the London Fire Brigade were summoned to the area.
Four of the eight patients who were rushed to the hospital are still in serious condition as a result of injuries that are thought to have been caused by crushing. At the site, those who were hurt were treated.
One woman wrote on Twitter:
“I was squashed, people stampeded in after hours of standing outside and having the doors closed. I could not breathe.
“Met Police gold commander Ade Adelekan described the incident as “extremely distressing”.
He said:
“This is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.
“A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night.
“The scene will be examined by specialist officers, CCTV will be viewed, every witness that we can make contact with will be spoken to and all other lines of enquiry will be followed.
“Officers are remaining in the area to provide reassurance to the local community in and around Brixton.”
Even though no one has been arrested, investigators have started a quick investigation, and cordons are still in place at the O2 Academy.
He added:
“I am aware of video being shared on social media. I would ask people to be sensible about what they share, and not to post material that will be upsetting to those affected by this incident.
“Where force has been used by police officers, those officers know they have to be accountable for their actions. The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards will view all material, including body worn video footage from the officers at the scene.
“In relation to a clip being widely shared, I can confirm that no police dogs were deployed to the location.”
He advised people to call the police if they saw anything unusual and if they had any video on their phone that could help the investigation.
London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, stated in a tweet on Friday morning that he was “heartbroken that this could happen to young Londoners enjoying a night out in our city”.
He requested that anyone with knowledge get in touch with police, then added that he “won’t rest until we have the answers their loved ones and the local community need and deserve”.
