Comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked onstage, video shows. A suspect is in custody, LAPD says
By Chris Boyette, Lisa Respers France, Caroll Alvarado and Stella Chan, CNN
An audience member who had a knife is in custody after he tackled a “famous comedian” Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles police said, following the emergence of a video that shows Dave Chappelle being attacked onstage.
“A famous comedian was performing at the Hollywood Bowl. He had finished his act and as he was exiting the stage, a male who was part of the audience jumped on the stage and tackle(d) this celebrity to the ground,” said LAPD spokesperson Officer Lizeth Lomeli.
The suspect, 23, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and taken to a hospital for medical treatment, Lomeli said. The victim “was not injured as a result of the crime,” she said.
The weapon was a “knife blade,” Lomeli said.
LAPD Officer Rosario Cervantes told CNN the suspect had a knife that was a replica handgun.
The motive of the apparent attack remains unclear.
It also wasn’t clear whether Chappelle filed an official police report.
Chappelle was performing at “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival.”
Jed Simon, an audience member who was at the show told CNN that Chappelle was finishing up his set and was about to introduce a musical act when a man climbed up to the stage and tackled the comedian.
Simon said he was sitting in the third row and was enjoying the show with his friends when he witnessed the incident.
“Some guy in front of us just climbed up on the stage. I was like ‘what the f*** is happening? He came right from the audience.” Simon told CNN. “Next thing I know he lunges at Dave and tackles him to the ground pretty aggressively. I was like what is going on?”
CNN correspondent Rachel Crane was also in the audience and described the bedlam after the attack.
According to Crane, the suspect was wearing a backpack. He was dragged stage right, where he was being subdued, when Chappelle said, “Don’t do this on stage, take him off.”
CNN has requested comment from representatives for Chappelle, Netflix and the festival. CNN has also reached out to the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Hollywood Bowl for more information.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Stella Chan contributed to this report
