San Bernardino punk riot
Encyclopedia
The San Bernardino punk riot occurred on March 4, 2006, after a punk rock
festival titled the British
Invasion 2k6 in San Bernardino, California
, United States
was shut down early due to the stabbing of a youth during the concert. The disturbance that led to the stabbing was reportedly caused by a group of youths advocating white power and making racist remarks to many of the concert-goers.
This took place after there was a skinhead
fight outside between non-racist skinheads and neo-Nazi
skinheads. One of the neo-Nazi skinheads that went back inside that came back from the fight was still mad. As he kept raving about white power people started arguing with him and throwing things at him. When a fight was about to break out and a crowd of people were going to beat him up, security separated him from the crowd and put him behind a small fence. The name calling and racist remarks from both sides kept going behind the fence. This is were there was enough tension and people to over power security and the fence. The crowd of Punks and Skinhead rushed in and started beating him up, it was at this point were he was stabbed. The police In an apparent attempt to disperse the agitated crowd used tear gas, releasing it not only at the site of the disturbance but also inside the venue itself where no disturbance had occurred, catching many concert-goers unawares. Some attendees became angry and destroyed several police cars outside the venue. Helicopters and riot police were called in and the crowd moved out of the parking lot and into San Bernardino. There were people jumping up and down on police cars and breaking headlights with their steel toe boots, and one police car was turned upside down. Estimates put the crowd at 1,500 fans who then began vandalizing local businesses and parked cars in the downtown area. Dumpsters were set on fire and several shops were broken into while dozens more were damaged. Many attendees who were driven to the event by parents were unable to disperse as demanded by the police and were subsequently forced into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Nearly 200 police were called in to quell the riot, which lasted several hours. At least four officers were injured and two concert-goers were hospitalized, one of them being the stabbing victim. The police made over a dozen arrests. The riot caused an estimated $500,000 in damages.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
festival titled the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Invasion 2k6 in San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was shut down early due to the stabbing of a youth during the concert. The disturbance that led to the stabbing was reportedly caused by a group of youths advocating white power and making racist remarks to many of the concert-goers.
This took place after there was a skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
fight outside between non-racist skinheads and neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
skinheads. One of the neo-Nazi skinheads that went back inside that came back from the fight was still mad. As he kept raving about white power people started arguing with him and throwing things at him. When a fight was about to break out and a crowd of people were going to beat him up, security separated him from the crowd and put him behind a small fence. The name calling and racist remarks from both sides kept going behind the fence. This is were there was enough tension and people to over power security and the fence. The crowd of Punks and Skinhead rushed in and started beating him up, it was at this point were he was stabbed. The police In an apparent attempt to disperse the agitated crowd used tear gas, releasing it not only at the site of the disturbance but also inside the venue itself where no disturbance had occurred, catching many concert-goers unawares. Some attendees became angry and destroyed several police cars outside the venue. Helicopters and riot police were called in and the crowd moved out of the parking lot and into San Bernardino. There were people jumping up and down on police cars and breaking headlights with their steel toe boots, and one police car was turned upside down. Estimates put the crowd at 1,500 fans who then began vandalizing local businesses and parked cars in the downtown area. Dumpsters were set on fire and several shops were broken into while dozens more were damaged. Many attendees who were driven to the event by parents were unable to disperse as demanded by the police and were subsequently forced into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Nearly 200 police were called in to quell the riot, which lasted several hours. At least four officers were injured and two concert-goers were hospitalized, one of them being the stabbing victim. The police made over a dozen arrests. The riot caused an estimated $500,000 in damages.