Red Hot Chili Peppers Concertgoers Assaulted After New Jersey Show

Violence broke out after a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday (May 5), when a group of “thugs” descended upon the large crowd exiting the venue.

When it comes to live shows that are conducive to violent behavior and brutal mosh pits — a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert is probably the least likely to incite that type of behavior. Their sound is more synonymous with singing along, dancing and having a good time. That likely was the scenario during RHCP’s show at Newark’s Prudential Center on Saturday — it was what happened just outside of the venue that is troubling.

MyFoxNy.com reports that a large group of teenagers swept through the near 20,000 fans exiting the venue, eventually robbing and assaulting a group of five concertgoers. What Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio describes as a “a band of 10 or 15 thugs,” targeted three teenagers and two adults, including a 23-year old Pennsylvania man who suffered a fractured eye socket. There were no arrests made even though there was a large crowd and a sizable police presence at the venue.

The assaults marred an otherwise special two-night stand at the venue, as Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated the previous night’s show to the memory of recently deceased Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch. RHCP and the Beastie Boys were both inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at last month’s induction ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio.