Pasadena police are investigating the beating of a woman by a man during a chaotic weekend concert at the Rose Bowl marred by unruly crowds, overcrowding and lax security, according to some concert-goers.
According to a viral video posted on the social media site X, the woman was assaulted Saturday, purportedly after accidentally spilling a drink on the bearded attacker.
The video shows the man pummeling the woman with at least a half-dozen blows that appear to render her unconscious. Another woman grabbed the back of the man’s pants, pulling them down, but was unable to stop the attack.
This isn’t my usual kind of content, but this behavior is abhorrent anywhere — much less at a show. A longtime follower was brutally attacked over an accidentally spilled drink this weekend during Rüfüs Du Sol at the Rose Bowl and needs help identifying this person.
If you… pic.twitter.com/taWKT2tctB
— Festive Owl (@TheFestiveOwl) August 18, 2025
The victim said in a social media post that the violent encounter began shortly after she and her companion reached their seats in Section 12-H at the Rose Bowl, which was filled with about 60,000 spectators by the time the concert started.
“When we first got to our seats, a drink was accidentally spilled, lightly splashing the man in front of us,” the woman said. “We apologized immediately, but he yelled that it was intentional and ran off, leaving his companion behind. We apologized to her and thought it was over.”
About 30 minutes later, the attacker returned and threatened violence, the woman said. “I tried to calm the situation and apologized again — and the next thing I remember, I woke up in the medical tent an hour later and missed the entire show,” she added.
The woman declined transportation to a hospital for emergency treatment, a city spokesperson said.
In a statement, Rüfüs Du Sol, an Australian alternative dance band trio, expressed shock at the assault.
“Delivering moments for our fans to gather and celebrate safely is what we live for,” the statement said. “We have been heartbroken to hear of the act of violence that took place during the opening act on Saturday. This type of behavior is completely unacceptable anywhere, and the fact that this happened at one of our shows is devastating to learn about.”
The statement concluded by asking those with information about the assault to contact the Pasadena Police Department. Tipsters should call 626-744-4241.
Lisa Derderian, a spokesperson for the city of Pasadena, said detectives are continuing to investigate the attack. But as of Tuesday, no arrests had been made, she said. “We hope to resolve this quickly,” Derderian said.
Apart from the assault, attendees of the Rüfüs Du Sol performance voiced their displeasure with several other issues, such as rowdy seat hoppers, overcrowding and security lapses.
“I have been attending 4-5 concerts a year for the past 20 years and I have never seen an event so disorganized, chaotic, and unsafe,” Jourie Palumbo, who traveled from North Carolina to attend the show with her sister, wrote in an email. “People were spilling into our aisle, pushing us over.”
Most of them, she said, “were very intoxicated, belligerent or on drugs.”
“We immediately felt unsafe and concerned that if a serious, catastrophic event happened, we would be unable to safely exit.”
Palumbo said she spoke to the security guards at the bottom of her section twice, and their only attempt to help was to shine a flashlight in people’s faces for about 30 seconds.
“As you can imagine, this did nothing,” she said. “After that, they shrugged us off. We later spoke to a security guard toward the top near the tunnel, and his response (was), ‘What do you want me to do? It’s happening up here, too.’ Unbelievable!”
Palumbo added she was also constantly “bombarded and distracted by belligerent and rude concertgoers who were nowhere near their assigned seats.”
Others who attended the show made similar complaints.
“The staff were completely unprepared tonight,” one individual said on Reddit. “They had no idea what they were doing, and it could have been a really bad situation had things gone (even more) wrong.”
Another individual said the concert was frightening.
“This concert was the most terrifying and disorganized event I have ever attended,” the individual said. “After an hour-long wait for a shuttle and another hour just to get water, we discovered our upgraded seats were completely inaccessible. The venue’s tunnels were blocked by a dangerous, pushing crowd, and people were being trampled. Even worse, security and on-site sheriffs refused to help.”