UPDATE 12/19, 11:oo a.m. ET: A second person has died in the below incident. Gabrielle Hutchinson, 23, passed away this morning, with Metropolitan Police revealing that she was working as contracted security staff during the incident. A third woman, 21, remains in critical condition. All three were in the foyer of the O2 Academy Brixton when people began rushing into the venue ahead of Asake’s performance. An investigation is ongoing.
UPDATE 12/17, 8:13 a.m. ET: One person has now died as a result of the crowd rush into the Asake concert in London on Dec. 15. Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, of Newham, passed away Saturday morning (Dec. 17), per the U.K. Metropolitan Police. Two other women, ages 21 and 23, remain in critical condition.
Four people are in critical condition after a crowd apparently attempted to storm the entrance at the O2 Academy Brixton in London last night (Dec. 15) during a show by Nigerian artist Asake. Several others were injured, which forced the cancellation of the show 10 minutes after it began.
“My heart is with those who were injured last night and caused any form of discomfort,” Asake wrote on Instagram. “I pray you get well soonest. I am also in the process of reaching out to individuals. I still do not have the full brief from the venue management themselves as to what led to the disruption at the entrance of the Brixton Academy, but we are thankful that all was peaceful at the end. For my people who enjoyed the beginning of my performance, I am sorry that it was cut short. Thank you for your unbelievable love London. I love you too much! I’m looking forward to seeing you again in a bit!”
“This is a really deeply concerning incident,” Labour MP Florence Eshalomi told BBC Radio 4’s World at One. “What is clear is that something has gone wrong with the ticketing and security procedures. It’s vital that we don’t speculate or jump to any conclusions or attribute any blame until we know the facts.”
Asake had previously begged fans not to arrive without tickets for the show at the same venue on Sunday.
Asake concert Brixton 15th… can you imagine my first concert and it turns out like this pic.twitter.com/4wWKgvZ5Zm
— ghostingdoll (@elsie_leimu) December 15, 2022
They need to close down o2 Brixton. What a myth lol #asake pic.twitter.com/5vjNzwi4pn
— say no more (@DammySNM) December 15, 2022
