Four music fans were hospitalized recently after a crazed man stole and drove an ATV vehicle into a crowd of people at the Curiosity Music Festival in Princeton, British Columbia on June 30th.
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The serious vehicular assault happened in the early morning hours on day four the five-day festival, which took place at the Snug Lake Amphitheatre from June 27th-July 1st, and featured mostly electronic-based artists. The festival has since released a statement about the assault, which injured a total of seven, including the medical staff who operated the ATV before it was taken from them.
Read the statement in full below.
“While responding to a medical call, our on-site medical staff was assaulted. During the assault, the medical vehicle was hijacked. The hijacked UTV was then driven through fencing and down an embankment into an out of bounds area. With security in pursuit, the hijacked vehicle then proceeded at high speed towards our stage. The individual drove through the crowd and crashed into the stage injuring 7 people. 4 were transported by BC ambulance to local hospitals for treatment. The individuals suffered non-life-threatening injuries. All individuals will recover.
Our medical and security staff acted accordingly and treated all parties saving further injury. The BC ambulance services complimented our medical staff on their fast actions and triage while awaiting their arrival.
The perpetrator was apprehended within seconds of the incident and detained until police arrived to arrest and remove from the scene. The perpetrator faces numerous charges including robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and more to be determined as the investigation continues.
This was an isolated incident with unknown factors. Curiosity Music festival LTD and its staff would like to reassure all patrons and those involved that this was an unpredictable event. Security and medical staff acted appropriately to the incident and are not at fault in any way. Counseling was offered to all those involved in this incident at the event. Ongoing support for the victims and any involved is available through local harm reduction and trauma teams in their community. Curiosity Music Festival would like to extend its sincerest apologies to all the victims involved. This incident was unpredictable and all staff acted in the best possible way to respond and contain any further injury or threat. Big Thanks and respect to Elite Security & First Aid Services and Milner Consulting Services for providing the best services available for festivals.”
Reports also state that Princeton Royal Canadian Mounted Police is also considering pressing charges of robbery and assault with a weapon against the attacker.
The incident only further emphasizes the need for strong but realistic security measures during mass gatherings, as it stands as the latest act of violence within a music festival setting.
[H/T CBC News]
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