Police poring over photos, videos posted online during Vancouver music festival riot
Photos and video began circulating on social media almost immediately after a riot broke out at a Vancouver music festival last week. Now, police are poring over all of those posts as evidence in a criminal probe.
The chaos erupted at the PNE when the headlining act, Lil Baby, abruptly cancelled his concert Sunday night. The venue was trashed by angry fans and property damage in the area is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Seven people were arrested that night.
Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said everyone who pulled out their phone and recorded what was happening was – intentionally or not --- collecting evidence that the investigators are now combing through.
"Sometimes people do make it easy for us when they pull out their cameras and start to record themselves, or their friends or other people while committing criminal acts," he said.
"There is already a significant amount of evidence. Just look at social media, look what people have already blasted out there on social media. We’re going to ask those people to send us the video we’re expecting there’s going to be a lot."
On Wednesday, the department launched a dedicated online portal where people can upload images or footage. The website says police are specifically looking for anything "depicting violence, destruction, or other criminal acts."
There were approximately 5,200 people inside the venue for the festival, and officials estimate about 1,000 of them remained after the headliner's cancellation.
Along with vendor kiosks and garbage cans being overturned, tables, tents and fridges were knocked down and thrown, police said. The VPD also said officers trying to control the crown were met with hostility and had bottles and other objects thrown at them.
The crowd also spilled out into the surrounding neighbourhood, reportedly doing additional damage to local businesses. No serious injuries were reported.
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart also weighed in on the incident, saying "this has no place in our city and I hope police catch these folks"
With files from CTV News Vancouver's St. John Alexander and Alyse Kotyk
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