A 23-year-old man from Los Angeles County has been apprehended in connection with the brutal beating of an Arizona woman at a sold-out concert at Rose Bowl Stadium.
The violence reportedly broke out over a spilled drink at the August 16 show headlined by Grammy Award-winning electronic band RÜFÜS DU SOL.
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The primary victim, who did not want to be recognized, told KTLA that she and her friends, including her fiancé, drove from Phoenix for hours to get to the show, and that when she and a friend were walking to their seats, one of them accidentally spilled a bit of their drink on a man.
“We apologized immediately, but he yelled that it was intentional and ran off, leaving his companion behind,” she told The Festive Owl, a music news outlet. “We apologized and thought it was over.”
According to the woman, approximately a half hour later, the man, now identified as Hawthorne resident Julio Cesar Lopez Zavala, approached the victim and her friends, yelling and threatening harm.
While she was attempting to de-escalate the situation, Zavala allegedly hit her in the face, knocking her unconscious and causing significant bleeding.
In footage of the attack that went viral, the 23-year-old man is seen charging into a crowd and delivering at least five punches, while someone behind him tries to pull him out of it. At one point in the footage, the woman can be seen sitting on the ground with her head turned down as her fiancé, who reportedly sustained some hits to the head, tries to shield her.
In a statement posted on the band’s Instagram account, RÜFÜS DU SOL termed the event “completely unacceptable” and said they were “heartbroken to hear of the act of violence that took place during the opening act.”
The event also spurred criticism of the Rose Bowl’s security systems and how the venue managed the approximately 90,000-person concert attendance.
“Among the long laundry list of complaints was crowd crushing in tunnels, people pushing in overcrowded stairs, aggressive drunk people, arguments, fans blocking exits, incredibly long shuttle lines, and, sadly, assault,” the independent Los Angeles-based music blog Grimy Goods reported.
Christine Molina, who attended the performance with her daughter and was seated a few rows behind the victim and her companions, told KTLA that she observed people openly doing drugs and questioned if the press of the large crowd, combined with drug and alcohol usage, played a role in the brutal attack.
“I’ve never seen any venue that has allowed the people to stand there in the walkways. It’s a hazard,” she said. “There were multiple security vendors working the venue. It wasn’t just one vendor, it was multiple, and the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing.”
Police were summoned and responded to the venue at 8:30 p.m. that evening, although Zavala was not arrested in Hawthorne until August 21.
Investigators said camera evidence and public tips helped lead to his identification and arrest.
“Formal charges are pending review by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office,” police officials said in a news release.
The victim, who has returned home to Arizona, stated that she was severely bruised and sore but that she is expected to heal completely.
