Photo Courtesy of Ashante Robinson
By Ashley Alvarez
Additional Reporting by Ashley Duong and Caitlin Antonios
ASUCI’s annual concert event Shocktoberfest was cancelled following a security and safety hazard which was prompted by midliner Famous Dex, walking into the audience area. Video footage of the incident shows students rushing the floor after the rapper stepped down from the stage, causing a stampede. According to witnesses, the rush of students caused barricades to be knocked over.
Soon after students rushed the floor, the Bren Events Center switched the lights on and began directing students to “please exit the Bren Events Center, the show is over.”
Students were pressed against the walls and ushered towards the exits.
Police officers walked in a line onto the stage and began to move towards the bleachers to help clear students out.
A Bren Events attendant informed students that, “the show was cancelled because students rushed to floor, it was a safety hazard.”
Following the evacuation, students crowded the area outside of the center as Famous Dex drove by; video footage shows students jumping onto the hood of the car, banging on the windows and climbing onto the roof.
A student who was on the car reported seeing a companion of Famous Dex pop out of the car’s sunroof, and pull out a gun on students shouting, “get off the fucking car.”
UCI Police subsequently sent out a Zot Alert and tweet informing students that “a male yr, 25 5’11 was seen inside a white vehicle with a gun at pereira and W. Peltason.”
Around 10 p.m. Famous Dex bragged online about shutting down the event saying, “I just shut the show down. And it was all positive vibes.”
At 11:10 p.m. he released a Snapchat video of himself with an alleged student in his car asking her to try on his watch, captioning the post, “Lil baby ice up.”
The same student was later featured on his Instagram stories; the video showed both Dex and the student in his hotel room.
UPDATE 10/20: On Saturday ASUCI Student Services VP Dilraj Toor released a statement on the ASUCI Facebook page. On the post, Toor stated ASUCI “had to make the decision to shut down the show due to numerous safety hazards.” Additionally, the student association is “looking into the situation from all aspects to see if a partial refund could be granted.”
Read the full statement here: https://www.facebook.com/associatedstudentsuci/posts/2145954645415965
UCIPD is still investigating the incident involving the firearm seen in Famous Dex’s possession as he was leaving campus in his car which was caught in video posts and shared on social media.
Any any victims or witnesses are urged to contact UCIPD at (949) 824-5223.