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A suspect has been arrested in the beating of a woman at a Rüfüs Du Sol concert at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., an incident that was captured by a fellow concertgoer in a video that went viral and attracted nationwide attention after the victim asked for the public’s help in identifying the perpetrator.
Julio Cesar Lopez Zavala, 23, was arrested by Pasadena police personnel Thursday in Hawthorne, Calif., according to a police spokesperson.
Formal charges against Zavala are pending review by the Los Angeles Country District Attorney’s Office, said Lisa Derderian, Pasadena’s chief communications officer.
Although it was one woman’s explicitly rendered tale that led to the local and eventual national interest in the beating, she was not the only victim, according to police. “The investigation revealed that three victims were assaulted to varying degrees by a male suspect who reportedly became agitated after a drink was spilled,” said the statement from police. “With the assistance of video footage and numerous tips from the public, Pasadena Police Department detectives were able to identify the suspect.”
Notably, the alleged victim who first publicized the incident went on social media Tuesday to claim that Zavala had been identified as his attacker. Internet users immediately began combing through the internet to find out more details about the man, who was said to be employed locally as a nurse. The Facebook account of a man going by that name had been scrubbed clean before his arrest was announced Thursday.
The assault happened at about 8:30 p.m. on the night of the Aug. 16 concert. The Pasadena police spokeswoman told Variety earlier that multiple officers responded to the incident and closed down the tunnel nearest the assault in order to bring in emergency medical personnel. This all happened before Rüfüs Du Sol took the stage, according to the spokesperson, who added that the female victim declined to be transported to a hospital.
The video sparked outrage as it appeared to show a man standing in an aisle and brutally pummeling a woman, even as another woman grabbed his pants from behind and pulled them down over his buttocks in an attempt to stop the beating. The woman who said she was the one being punched in the video said she had been knocked unconscious during the assault.
“We were at the concert to see our favorite artist, but the night turned traumatic,” the woman wrote in a message that was further shared by a popular account covering EDM festivals, Festive Owl. “When we first got to our seats, a drink was accidentally spilled, lightly splashing the man in front of us. 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.”
She continued, “About 30 minutes later, he returned, screamed us, and threatened violence. 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. This man PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE, knocking me out and causing significant bleeding, while he continued attacking our group. Another friend tried to protect us, but the attacker fled into the crowd and hasn’t been found.”
Since the alleged attacker’s face was clearly visible in profile in the video, thousands of onlookers took glee in imagining that a suspect would quickly be identified and face consequences in his workplace as well as with the law.
“Charges will absolutely be filed and a civil lawsuit as well,” the woman who said she was the primary victim said after she said the attacker had been ID-ed. “I’m going to make this man PAY for what he did to me and my friends. Thank you to everyone for who reached out to me!”
On Monday, Rüfüs Du Sol, an Australian electronic music trio, posted a message to their social media saying that that “delivering moments to our fans to gather and celebrate safely is what we live for. We have been heart broken 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 was devastating to learn about.”
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Chris Willman
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