Fan Stabbed at Concert Is in Serious Condition

A heavy-metal fan stabbed at an Irvine rock concert remained in serious condition Monday as police tried to determine the identity of his attacker, who wounded three others in a mid-concert brawl, authorities said.

The 33-year-old El Monte man suffered a punctured lung and three others were treated for minor wounds after the melee, which erupted during the performance of the band Iron Maiden at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Sunday night.

Police immediately questioned two men, but they were released for lack of evidence, said Irvine Police Lt. Sam Allevato.

“In a darkened concert, everyone’s fighting and pushing,� Allevato said. “You might not see who had the knife. We’re trying to sort it all out.�

The last publicized stabbing at Verizon, previously known as Irvine Meadows, occurred seven years ago during a performance by another heavy-metal band, Anthrax. Then, a Los Angeles man was stabbed in the neck, chest and stomach.

A concert safety expert on Monday criticized the venue for allowing a fan to smuggle a knife into the concert. Paul Wertheimer, who tracks security problems at rock shows around the world, said Sunday’s episode is one of a series that have befallen the amphitheater during the last two decades.

Wertheimer cited four stabbings during the last 18 years at the theater and an array of injuries from crowd surges, including an incident during a Jimmy Buffett concert in April.

Well-run concert venues have tough security measures to keep out weapons, with many employing metal detectors, he said.

“Is this unexpected from a band like Iron Maiden? No. It attracts a tough audience,� said Wertheimer, who runs Chicago-based Crowd Management Strategies. “They have this high-energy segment of their audience that can be violent. The venue itself . . . they should be preparing accordingly.�

But Irvine police defended Verizon’s safety record, saying it is impossible to prevent fights from breaking out at high-energy concerts.

Allevato said Verizon didn’t use metal detectors Sunday but had security guards pat down all concertgoers as they walked into the theater.

“All the precautions are in place,� Allevato said. “If someone really wants to secret something as small as a knife inside, they could probably do it.�

Officials with SFX Entertainment--the parent company of Avalon Attractions, which runs Verizon--declined to say whether the stabbing would prompt them to review security procedures. Representatives from Staff Pro Security, which patrols the amphitheater, could not be reached for comment.

Iron Maiden, the influential, long-running British heavy-metal act, is known for its macabre imagery and lyrics. Some critics have assailed the band for using what they have described as satanic imagery. One of the band’s most popular albums is titled “Number of the Beast.�

Iron Maiden is about two-thirds of the way through its Brave New World Tour and is scheduled to play in San Diego today and at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles Wednesday.

About 9,000 people attended the Verizon concert, which was otherwise peaceful, police and venue officials said. The opening acts were Queensryche and Rob Halford.

Iron Maiden was performing when two groups of men in their late 20s and early 30s began fighting in the loge level, Allevato said.

Security guards broke up the brawl and took six men--four of them wounded--to the police command post backstage, he said. Police later recovered a 3- to 4-inch pocket knife from the scene and are examining the weapon for fingerprints.

Three people were treated at local hospitals and released. Police said they were Nester De Leon, 30, of South Gate; Jose Trejo, 29, of Vernon; and Enrique Candelas, 32, of Moreno Valley. The man with the punctured lung was being treated at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo. Police would not release his name.