06/02/2022
JUNE 2, 1991 - Notorious for being a total hothead,Axl Rose caused a riot to break out during a Guns 'N' Roses gig after leaping into the crowd to remove a camera from a fan at the Riverpoint Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri near St. Louis. Over 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested.
In the middle of the chorus, the band's performance of "Rocket Queen", the 15th song in the set (counting drum & guitar solos), Rose pointed out a fan who was taking still pictures of the show, saying "...Hey, take that! Take that! Now, get that guy and take that!" When security failed to deal with the person, Rose decided to confiscate the camera himself, saying "I'll take it, God d*** it!" and then jumped into the audience and tackled the person. After taking the camera, striking members of the audience and the security team, and being pulled out of the audience by members of the crew, Rose grabbed his microphone and said "Well, thanks to the lame-a** security, I'm going home!", slammed his microphone on the stage and left.
The sound the microphone made sounded to some fans like a gunshot. After Rose left, band member Slash quickly told the audience, "He just smashed the microphone. We're out of here." The angry crowd began to riot and over 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested. The footage was captured by Robert John, who was documenting the entire tour for the band. Rose was charged with having incited the riot, but police were unable to arrest him until almost a year later, as the band went overseas to continue the tour. Charges were filed against Rose but a judge ruled that he did not directly incite the riot.
Rose later stated that the Guns N' Roses security team had made four separate requests to the venue's security staff to remove the camera, all of which were ignored, that other members of the band had reported being hit by bottles from the audience and that the venue's security had not been very strict, allowing weapons into the venue.
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