Shocking moment NYC SummerStage worker pepper sprays crowd after being called ‘f****t’

The shocking moment when a concertgoer was sprayed with pepper spray by a security guard after the employee accused the person of calling him a “f****t” was caught on camera.

The incident occurred during Colombian singer Juanes’ free performance in New York City’s Central Park as part of Thursday’s SummerStage concert series. The event had to be abandoned because thousands had jumped fences to enter, creating an unsafe environment, organizers said.

The video begins with the security guard accusing a group of “roaming” the gate and forcing a barrier on top of him. The man then points to a member of the audience, claiming that person used a slur.

“You called me f****t? Ready, ready, ready now,” he says. The man tells other onlookers to duck as he pulls the spray out of his pocket and yells, “B***h,” before storming off.

An attendee at the concert told the New York Post that security personnel antagonized the crowd. Isaac Carvajal said he was with his father about 10 minutes from where the pepper spray took place.

The video begins with the security guard complaining that the mob has stormed through the gate and forced a barrier to fall on him

The guard accuses a mob member of calling him a “f****t,” then leans over the barrier to give him pepper spray

“The security people teased the crowd a bit. They never said, ‘We have excess capacity,'” Carvajal said.

An NYPD spokesperson confirmed that a man and a woman were hit by the spray and were both treated at the scene. The guard left before officers responded. At the time of writing, no arrests have been made.

According to SummerStage officials, the security guard will not be allowed to work at future events. He was employed by an outside contractor.

“We do not allow the use of maces or violence in any way. When we were made aware of the video that was circulating and what had happened, we immediately took action,” a spokesperson told the Post.

The concert’s cancellation marked the first time a SummerStage performance had been canceled for non-weather-related reasons.

There were 5,000 people in the venue for the performance and another 12,000 outside trying to get in. Juanes, 50, performed two songs before the event was called off.

NYPD officials said the security guard fled the scene of the abandoned concert before they arrived

‘Because people climbed in through the bushes, climbed in over fences, pushed down the barricades… it’s lucky it didn’t get any worse than it did. Because if 12,000 people from the outside had managed to get in, there would have been a tragedy,” said Pamela Mazza, who was present. Gothamist.

Mazza also said that despite Juanes’ popularity in Latin America, officials were slow to announce in Spanish that the concert had been canceled, calling it “cultural ignorance and incompetence.”

Another concertgoer told the website that despite the swelling crowd, only between two and six police officers were present. Others described arguments, shoving and “fist fights” among the crowd.

In response, the NYPD told Gothamist that officers should not provide security for private events, even though officers were involved in the decision to call off the performance.

Queens resident Julisa Fernandez told the website that there was so much panic among the crowd that rumors circulated that someone was armed with a gun.

“People just jumped the barricades. And there were so many people pushing and shoving and children also getting hurt in front of us. … They got pushed around and they got scared too,” Fernandez said.

Colombian sensation Juanes expressed disappointment that the show had to be canceled due to crowd control problems

On stage, even Juanes became aware of the problems and told the audience from the stage to ‘be calm’ Billboard.

“If we’re not calm, they’re going to stop the concert. Many people were left outside without being able to enter. We want to continue the show. It’s possible, isn’t it?’, he said in Spanish.

He later told the magazine, “I’m sad because I really wanted to play.”

Billboard’s Isabela Raygoza said there are no “proper measures” for crowd control outside the venue.

“They didn’t have proper security measures outside. So I think a group of people stormed into the venue, so they knocked down a fence and that clearly endangers the safety of people already inside,” she added.