15 new suspects added to most wanted list as Vancouver police probe PNE riot

Just over two months after a riot broke out at a musical festival in East Vancouver, police say the public has helped identify 10 of 25 most wanted suspects.

The individuals are accused of destroying property at the PNE Amphitheatre, and putting other concert-goers in danger, over the last-minute cancellation of the headline act at the Breakout Festival on Sept. 18.

On Friday, the day after 15 new photos of suspects were released, Vancouver police took to Twitter to celebrate some success.

“And the tips keep coming! Three more suspects have been identified, including two from the original 10,” reads the tweet.

The first 10 photos of suspects were released on Nov. 10, and all but one have now been identified.

“We’ve received hundreds of tips," Const. Tania Visintin told reporters Thursday.

“People themselves were turning themselves in.”

She says Vancouver police are now asking for the public’s help in identifying the latest batch of suspects.

“Now, we’re again asking everyone to look hard at these newly released pictures to help us hold these additional suspects accountable,” Visintin said. “This could be your brother, your nephew, a friend at school, were asking you if you recognize anyone in these photos to please call our investigators.”

PNE spokesperson Laura Ballance says the riot caused more than $300,000 in damage.

“We had about 5.500 people on site that night,” she said. “About 4,500 left disappointed, but respectively.”

“It was about a thousand who chose to be very destructive,” Ballance added.

Ballance says she believes the venue was properly prepared for the event that night.

“It is a very rare occurrence," she said. "We believe we had a good plan in place. We believe that plan, which is developed in partnership with stakeholders such as the VPD, is strong."

“You can't come to our city, to our fairgrounds and do this destructive behaviour, cause all this property damage, injure other concertgoers and get away with it,” added Visintin.

Photos of the outstanding suspects, of which there are now a total of 15, can be viewed online at VPD.ca. To make it easy for people to report information about the suspects to investigators, an online submission form is available on the same website.

With files from CTV's Becca Clarkson.