Shooting Mars Kanye Concert

Two security guards shot at Kanye West concert after ticketless British fan rushed the gates

By Gina Serpe Mar 01, 2006 4:25 PMTags

Kanye West fans were expecting to hear "Testify." Now they may have to do it.

Two security guards were shot, one seriously, outside the rapper's concert in Birmingham, England, Tuesday night after a ticketless fan tried to rush the gate.

According to the area's West Midlands Police, the guards had already escorted the unruly concertgoer from the NEC Arena when he returned around 10 p.m. with a female companion and fired the shots.

"At this early stage, the motive for the shooting remains unclear but there appears to have been some sort of dispute about gaining entry to the concert," Detective Inspector Ian Grant said.

Cops on the scene told BBC News that between four and eight shots were fired and two security officers were admitted to the hospital.

One of the men sustained shots to the face, stomach and foot and is waiting to undergo his second surgery. While remaining in serious condition, his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The second guard was believed to simply suffer from a "graze" injury and has subsequently been treated and released from the hospital.

While witnesses say there were several people seemingly involved in the shooting, police are not treating it as a gang-related incident.

One man and one woman have already been arrested in connection with the altercation, though police are unsure whether either are responsible for pulling the trigger and are continuing their search for the potential shooter. Neither has been publicly identified.

"We're still looking for another person, but we don't know if the person in custody is the one who was refused entry," police spokeswoman Sarah Kirby said.

"We've identified numerous witnesses and I am very interested in the CCTV that we've seized that we're now analyzing to try and identify who the gunman was," Detective Chief Inspector Kenny Bell said at a news conference.

"Over 12,000 people were at the NEC last night--it's only one of them who decided to go out with a loaded firearm and use it in this vicious and cowardly way."

The concert was the last night of West's five-date Touch the Sky tour in the U.K.

Despite the shooting, the concert went on as planned. The NEC Arena said that it would use the incident to review security procedures for future events.

The six-time Grammy winner is scheduled to perform in Milan, Italy, on Thursday.