(LOS ANGELES) — A Los Angeles music festival abruptly ended Saturday night when police were called to quill a backstage brawl in which rapper Drakeo the Ruler was fatally stabbed, a high-ranking law enforcement source told ABC News.
The mayhem erupted around 8:30 p.m. local time at the “Once Upon a Time in L.A.” festival, which was set to feature Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, at Exposition Park near the Banc of California Stadium, officials said.
Drakeo the Ruler was a 28-year-old West Coast hip-hop artist whose real name was Darrell Caldwell.
Live Nation, the promoters of the festival, issued a statement to the Los Angeles Times, saying, “There was an altercation in the roadway backstage. Out of respect for those involved and in coordination with local authorities, artists and organizers decided not to move forward with remaining sets so the festival was ended an hour early.”
The incident is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol because Exposition Park is a state land in a part of Los Angeles patrolled by the CHP.
The violence came just 43 days after 10 people, including a 9-year-old boy, were trampled to death at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, during a performance by rapper Travis Scott. That concert has prompted more than 300 lawsuits from people who say they were injured.
The Los Angeles fire marshal ordered Saturday’s concert shut down after the man was stabbed and taken to a hospital, the Los Angeles Police Department told ABC station KABC in Los Angeles.
The episode drew a massive response from the LAPD and California Highway Patrol.
No arrests in connection with the stabbing were announced.
Dozens of high-profile artists were scheduled to perform on the concert’s three stages, including Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, YG, Ice Cube, The Game, Cypress Hill and famed R&B singer Al Green.
ABC News’ Alex Stone, Izzy Alvarez and Zachary Ferber contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
