Cops and a large crowd clashed Sunday night in New Jersey outside the entrance to the Hot 97 Summer Jam.
According to the parent company of Hot 97, people were starting to get rowdy outside the ticket office, so they decided to stop letting people in, even those who had bought tickets in advance, NJ.com reported.
The incident started around 7 p.m. local time after people started climbing metal barriers and forcing their way through security to get into the concert, New Jersey State Police said. Cops told people they had to leave and could not stay outside the concert because they wanted to avoid congestion when it ended.
The Asbury Park Press reported that the NJSP used cars to block off the entrance to the concert. An armored state police car blasted loud noise to try to disperse the mass of about 1,000 people.
People reportedly threw beers bottles in response. The cops eventually used "pepper spray, and tear gas," police said.
More troops were sent for "crowd control" and arrests were made, Sgt. Gregory Williams told the Associated Press.
On Monday, state police said 61 people were arrested and 10 troopers suffered minor injuries.
"Charges for those arrested ranged from soliciting without a permit and trespassing to possession of a weapon and assault. The majority of charges were for disorderly behavior," police said.
After people without tickets tried to push their way through the gates, the entrance was closed, police said. It was "briefly re-opened to try to accommodate those with tickets who had not yet entered, but they were closed again when non-ticket holders attempted to push their way in," police said. "Some legitimate ticket holders were not able to get into the concert because of the dangerous and illegal actions of others."
Kendrick Lamar, Trey Songz, Big Sean, and Chris Brown performed at the annual concert hosted by New York's Hot 97 radio station.
Summer Jam wouldn't be Summer Jam without this ....
Hot 97 said on Twitter that people who had tickets that were not scanned would receive a refund.
For those whose Summer Jam tickets were not scanned, refunds will be offered at point of purchase.
The station later released this statement:
Due to strong demand for tickets for Summer Jam 2015, the show sold out early this evening.
When fans realized tickets were not available at the box office, a small number of people created an unsafe environment, and for the safety of all guests, the New Jersey State Police were on scene to disperse the crowd. The gates were closed at that time. No further entry was permitted into the event.
For ticket holders whose tickets were not scanned, refunds will be offered at the point of purchase.
NJSP released this statement on Facebook on Sunday evening:
They followed with this update on Monday:
Police RIGHT NOW outside of Hot 97 Summer Jam....