Four Stabbed, Twenty Arrested at Firefest 2014
Update, 4:03 pm: A reader has pointed out that Mark Witherspoon, general manager for The Foundry — the venue that housed the event — has released the following statement via Facebook:
“Still pissed about yesterday. Seeing all these statuses of people ASSUMING they know what happened makes it worse. There is only a tight group of 10-15 that know EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. Anyone who thinks this is scene related is an idiot…this was a CREW RELATED BEEF between FSU and SOSF. This WAS NOT a product of the wonderful scene that we all represent and have built together!! Most involved in the brawl yesterday had no intentions on coming to the show to watch music and had every intention to cause a fuckin ruckus. Those patrons who ended up stranded at the club for 6 hours while a crime scene investigation ensued CAME TO WATCH MUSIC. So don’t get it twisted…. I repeat….THIS WAS NOT RELATED TO THE COLLECTIVE CLEVELAND MUSIC SCENE!! If you’re in it, then you know who you are and you know that WE ALWAYS HAVE EACH OTHERS BACK NO MATTER WHAT!!! I refuse to sit aside and listen to the rhetoric spewed by those who were not witness to the events that took place. THIS IS OUR LIFE!!! The actions of those few individuals involved DO NOT REPRESENT THE BELIEFS OF THE COLLECTIVE CLEVELAND MUSIC SCENE!!! It’s a shame that a few assholes are about to give a whole new stigma to what aggressive music entails and/or represents in our area. The Non-Violent advocates of all forms of music in Cleveland stand UNITED and we DETEST anything otherwise! I WILL NOT let this tear us apart, YOU WILL NOT let this tear us apart, and UNITED WE WILL NOT let this tear us apart!!! To all my staff involved, it was a crazy night and a lot of emotions were let out. I apologize to anyone that was in my path, and I thank all of you very keeping our patrons safe and disallowing that nonsense from entering the venue. THIS TOO SHALL PASS!!! I love you all!!!”
Original story follows below.
Well, this is awful.
The second and final night of Firefest 2014 in Lakewood, OH was shut down this past Saturday, April 19, after a massive brawl broke out, resulting in four non-fatal stabbings and twenty arrests. Witnesses on the scene report shots being fired, although it would appear that (luckily) no one was hit; some of the brawlers are also said to have been wielding machetes and baseball bats.
We don’t know the cause of the melee right now, but a Lambgoat reader who was on the scene claims the fight was between the crew SOSF (Swing On Sight Family) and FSU (Friends Stand United), the latter of whom has been classified by the FBI as a gang (although the members of FSU deny this classification, and also identify themselves simply as a crew).
As a result of the violence, police shut down the show before many of the bands — including Death Before Dishonor, Weekend Nachos, and headliners Ringworm — were able to perform. (The first night of the fest, which included Unearth, Winds of Plague, and Oceano, went off without incident.)
You can watch a local news report on the incident below. We’ll update this post with any additional info as it becomes available.
