Chaos at Jay-Z concert puts Yankee Stadium on lockdown
Hundreds of fans without tickets breached security checkpoints, officials said.
A Jay-Z concert at Yankee Stadium erupted in chaos Sunday night after large groups of people rushed the gates, prompting the New York Police Department to place the venue on lockdown, which delayed the show for hours.
The security breach occurred before the final concert of Jay-Z's three-night performance at the iconic baseball stadium in the city's Bronx borough, authorities said.
Disorder broke out when large groups of people pushed and shoved their way through lines of fans waiting to get in and charged through security checkpoints and entrances, a law enforcement source told ABC New York station WABC.
In a joint statement released on Monday morning, concert promoter Roc Nation and Yankee Stadium said "hundreds of individuals in large groups" whom they said did not have tickets to the performance "stormed over peaceful ticket holders, and in some cases, breached security."
"As a result, gates at all entrances of the Stadium were closed for an extended period of time," the joint statement said. "With the thoughtful guidance of the NYPD, gates were reopened cautiously and carefully to ensure the safety of those inside and outside."
The concert was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET but thousands of fans waiting outside weren't allowed to enter Yankee Stadium until around 10 p.m., under tight security and with police officers patrolling the entrances.
Jay-Z didn't take the stage until around 12:20 a.m. on Monday, WABC reported.
According to numerous videos posted by fans from inside the stadium, the Brooklyn-born rapper apologized to the crowd for the delay.
"Outside, it's 10,000 people outside. I don't want to start music and people be trampled," Jay-Z told fans, the online videos show. "I'm really sorry for the inconvenience but I had to be sure everybody is OK."
The concert didn't end until around 3 a.m.
The show included surprise guest performers including Rihanna, Usher, Fat Joe, Jeezy, Pusha T, Pharrell, Jadakiss, and Jay-Z's wife, Beyoncé,
No arrests connected to the security breach were announced by the NYPD.
