October 03, 2006

Woman Injured In Chair-Throwing Incident At DMX Show

By Chris Harris, with additional reporting by Jayson Rodriguez (MTV.com)

DMX was onstage at New York's Nassau Coliseum for a total of 15 minutes Saturday night during the Back to School Jam concert co-sponsored by hip-hop radio station Hot 97. But a lot can happen in 15 minutes.

According to police, an unidentified 29-year-old woman was struck in the head with a metal folding chair during an onstage altercation that involved several concertgoers and members of DMX's entourage. The victim was treated at Nassau University Medical Center in nearby East Meadow for a laceration she'd sustained to her head.

Police spokesman Detective Sergeant Herb Daub of Nassau's Third Squad Detective Unit told New York Newsday that DMX "ran back, jumped off [the] stage" during his brief set, "and started a fight with the sound person" when the sound was cut midway through his performance.

DMX headlined the Hot 97 event, which also featured appearances by Yung Joc and Lloyd Banks -- with surprise guests 50 Cent and G-Unit. Jim Jones, Foxy Brown and Funkmaster Flex were also slated to appear but were unable to make it past the security checkpoint, according to the show's promoters, Big League Entertainment. Banks took the stage just prior to DMX and performed for 30 minutes; his set was also abbreviated due to time constraints levied by the venue.

Management at the Nassau Coliseum repeatedly attempted to cut off 50's microphone in hopes of speeding up the performances. The G-Unit leader, however, switched microphones and began taunting DMX and Jones in hopes of winning the crowd over for more time. After stirring up the audience for an additional 15 minutes, 50 finally relented and G-Unit's set came to a close. There were no altercations as G-Unit exited.

DMX took the stage to perform next and experienced similar problems with his microphone being cut off. The promoters said the issues getting artists into Nassau Coliseum resulted in an overall time crunch. The artists, they told MTV News, were asked to shorten their sets by 15 minutes. DMX, like 50 Cent, attempted to rally the crowd in his favor but grew frustrated with the sound man and began to destroy equipment on stage. The rapper then stormed off, according to an eyewitness on the scene.

According to police, DMX and his associates exited the stage at about 11:45 p.m. but returned minutes later, throwing bottles of water into the crowd.

"A member of the audience picked up a steel folding chair and threw it onstage," Daub explained. "It was thrown back off by a member of DMX's entourage and it struck the victim in the head."

Patrol officers were called to Nassau Coliseum by a witness to the chair-hurling incident, and a special-operations team was summoned to clear out the venue. Several witnesses came forward to discuss the incident with detectives. The alleged suspect was described as a black male with dreadlocks. Police are asking that anyone with additional information about the assault come forward, and an investigation into the incident has been launched.

Neither DMX, nor a spokesperson for his label, Sony Urban, could be reached for comment at press time.

In related news, a heavy metal concert that was held in Sedalia, Missouri, on Saturday ended abruptly -- and with the gig's two headliners, Drowning Pool and Fear Factory, still left to play -- when a female audience member was hit in the head with a beer bottle that had been thrown from the stage by one of the afternoon's performers.

According to the Sedalia Democrat, the Delicious Rox Festival 2006, which boasted a bill 19 bands deep and was staged at the Dodge Arena at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, halted just after 10 p.m. Police were called in to help shut the concert down. The show's promoters pulled the plug on the gig because of an insurance stipulation requiring the concert's cancellation in the event a fan sustained an injury.

Police did not reveal the victim's name, or provide an update on her condition. The promoters broke the news to the audience following Fozzy's set, and local law enforcement officials called in additional officers to keep the crowd under control. Refunds will be offered through the promoters' website, AndaroManagement.com.