Thousands of Kanye West fans flooded the streets of Manhattan early Monday morning after the rapper tweeted about a “sold out” impromptu concert that never actually happened.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/739683751127568384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
At around 1 a.m., West posted a tweet announcing a 2 a.m. surprise concert. The late-night tweet teasing a must-see performance led to a mob of eager fans rushing Webster Hall, where the rumored perforce was expected to be held.
However, there was never a Kanye West show scheduled at Webster Hall. Witnesses say one theater employee attempted to calm the growing crowd by grabbing a bullhorn and telling the misguided attendees: “Go home! Go home!” according to NBC New York.
The Webster Hall Twitter account also posted a message in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to quell the budding unrest.
There is no late show at Webster Hall tonight. Please get home safely.
— Webster Hall (@WebsterHall) June 6, 2016
By 2 a.m., law enforcement had closed off entire streets as large crowds of fans streamed in, some of them climbing on top of parked cars and swinging from light posts.
Bystanders took to social media to post pictures and video of the chaotic scene.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGTXPopni23/
Shockingly, West was seen standing through the sunroof of a moving car surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of screaming and cheering fans.
“It wasn’t a crazy riot or anything. People was just eager to see Kanye. The energy was high but there wasn’t fighting or anything like that,” Brooklyn resident Nareem Rigaud told NBC New York.
“It was an energy. It wasn’t that people were bugging out, but it wasn’t that people were calm. People just saw their idol, so it was almost like excitement,” added Dante Moreno, from New Rochelle.
By 3:30 a.m., law enforcement had cleared the roads, re-opening them to traffic.
As the people dispersed and the streets cleared, the giant piles of trash and the property damage became evident. Smashed car windows with dented rooftops lay in the wake of the massive crowd’s destruction.
Despite the pandemonium, there was just one arrest made for disorderly conduct, according to the New York Times.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson
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