MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (CelebrityAccess) Tariq Cherif, the co-founder of the Rolling Loud festival in Miami Gardens, Fla., issued a statement yesterday after false reports of an active shooter caused panic at the festival, with fans rushing to the exits.
“Shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday night, there was a disturbance that led a large group of fans to believe there was an active shooter within the festival grounds,” he wrote. “The commotion resulted in these fans running out of the venue, some of whom were injured and/or scared in the process. Security and public authorities immediately sprung into action, established it was a false alarm and there was not an active shooter in the festival, and diffused the situation. Safety is #1 at Rolling Loud. We have hundreds of police officers and security guards hired to protect our fans. While we are upset this situation occurred, we are proud of the swift reaction of law enforcement to verify the area was secure.”
“Thank you for understanding,” he added. “Let’s all come together today with positivity and have a great day.”
The festival also tweeted the following statement: “There was a false alarm of an incident on site that caused people to panic. The situation has been confirm (sic) by police as a false alarm. The show is proceeding as planned with slight delays. Thank you for your patience. Anyone who ran out of the venue who still has their wristband on can reenter through security at the festival gates.”
The situation may have been a false alarm, but video appears that police took the concern seriously.
Really!?!? False alarm?!?! pic.twitter.com/A50MmUSR6Q
— ahniTa 👩👩👧👦 (@ahnitagonzalez) May 11, 2019
Meanwhile, Kodak Black was arrested at the hip-hop festival right before he was to perform. The Florida rapper was taken into custody Saturday for alleged state and federal firearm violations and comes after an “extensive investigation,” US Marshals said, according to the Miami Herald. The rapper was arrested last month on gun and drug charges near Niagara Falls, N.Y. while trying to enter the U.S. from Canada.
To further complicate the situation, Lil Wayne refused to perform after police tried to “check” him before going on stage.
“To all my fans who came to see me at Rolling Loud, I’m sorry but I won’t be performing,” the rapper posted on Twitter. “The Festival Police (Not Rolling Loud) made it mandatory that I had to be policed and checked to get on the stadium grounds.”
He added: “I do not and will not ever settle for being policed to do my job and give you guys a great show.”
