Vancouver – A months-long Vancouver Police investigation has led to mischief charges against 15 people in connection with an incident at last summer’s Breakout Festival at the PNE Amphitheatre.
“We spent months collecting evidence and analyzing video in the aftermath of the Breakout Festival, and we promised to do everything we could to arrest those responsible for their violent and destructive behavior,” says Inspector Dale Weidman, who led the investigation for VPD’s Major Crime Section. “We’re grateful to everyone who came forward with tips and helped us identify these suspects.”
Vancouver Police launched a criminal investigation after the last-minute cancellation of a headline act at the PNE Breakout Festival on September 18, 2022, when a small number of concert goers deliberately destroyed property in and around the venue, causing more than $300,000 damage and sparking street-fights in the surrounding residential neighbourhoods.
Investigators analyzed security images from the venue and collected cellphone video from bystanders to identify the people responsible for inciting the violence and destroying property after the concert was cancelled.
B.C. Prosecution Service has now approved mischief charges against 15 people.
Those charged are all men aged 15 to 22 at the time of the offences. All but three suspects live in communities outside Vancouver, with some living as far away as Prince George, Vancouver Island, and the Okanagan.
