Ultra Music Festival Marred By Arrests & Incidents

The Ultra Music Festival took place in Miami this weekend and after a series of tragic events the mayor of the Florida city wants to see the festival held elsewhere next year. According to Consequence of Sound, there were 76 arrests, 28 of them for felonies, and 118 attendees were treated by paramedics. In addition, a security guard was left with severe brain hemorrhaging following an incident on Friday.

Billboard reports that Erica Mack, a 28-year-old security guard at the event, “was in ‘critical, yet stable’ condition after trampled when trying to stop a mob of gate crashers from storming inside. Mack suffers from severe brain hemorrhaging and a broken leg.”

Ultra organizers released this statement about Friday’s incident:

The event organizers of Ultra Music Festival share the sentiments of our security partner, CSC, with regard to the condition of Erica Mack, the security guard currently receiving treatment at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The Ultra Family hopes for a swift and full recovery.

The event organizers prohibit any form of unlawful entry in to the event grounds. Preliminary investigations show that the incident was caused by individuals not in possession of event tickets and who were determined to gain unauthorized entry.

Every year the event organizers work collaboratively with police and other municipal partners along with the organizers’ independent security partners to ensure the safety of all patrons, crew and working personnel. Because a thorough investigation is underway, event organizers regret that additional comment cannot be provided at this time. The event coordinators are cooperating fully with investigative authorities.

Miami mayor Tomas Regalado told Miami’s CBS 4, “What happened this weekend is an event that could have been avoided, the organizers of Ultra did not follow the police directive to reinforce the fence, even though they knew that this year, and the year before, some kids have tried to over run the fences.In the next weeks we are going to have a discussion on the city commission level to deny the permits for next year for the event here in the city of Miami.”

Earlier on Friday Miami police inspected the perimeter and asked organizers to reinforce the fencing surrounding the event, it appears as if that directive was not followed.