Blink-182 ‘Locked Down’ at El Paso Hotel During Mass Shooting [Update]
Update: Following the mass shooting in El Paso, Blink-182 have decided to postpone their Sunday (Aug. 4) show at the UTEP Don Haskins Arena. Their statement can be read below:
Following today’s terrible tragedy in El Paso we are postponing our Sunday, August 4th show at the UTEP Don Haskins Arena in solidarity with the community. Please stay tuned for further updates coming soon. Sending our love to the entire community of El Paso.
It's been an eventful week for Blink-182, who found themselves locked down in a hotel Saturday (Aug. 3) during an active shooter situation in El Paso.
At press time, the Associated Press had reported that multiple people were killed and the alleged shooter was in custody after the assailant opened fire at the Cielo Vista Mall.
Blink-182 are in El Paso to play the Don Haskins Center on Sunday (Aug. 4), but were alerted to the police situation at their hotel. Singer-bassist Mark Hoppus tweeted, "We are locked down in our hotel in El Paso. Over the intercom system they just announced that there are reports of another active shooter directly across the street at a location different from the first shootings."
He went on to add, "We were leaving breakfast when our security texted that there was an active shooter at the mall we were headed to. Saw dozens of police cars on the freeway and surface streets. helicopters. we got back to the hotel and turned on the news to see what was happening. Then the intercom said there are reports of another shooting across the street at the Bassett Place mall. i don’t see or hear police or helicopters so hopefully it’s just an over abundance of caution and someone got the malls confused. so terrible."
Hoppus later corrected his previous tweet after getting more information. "Update: police confirm report of a separate incident at Bassett Mall is incorrect. we are still in our hotel. federal agent at the door to the building."
According to the reports, Sgt. Enrique Carrillo addressed the media and stated that a suspect was in custody and that there was no longer danger to the public.
It's been a memorable week for Blink-182, who also ran into a little travel trouble en route to Austin earlier in the week. "The bus we were on broke down so we all hopped on the management bus and now the management bus broke down" tweeted Hoppus. "We are trying to get ubers to pick eight people up from the side of the freeway in the middle of Texas. laugh cry emoji. see you at some point austin!" The musician would later tweet a photo of the bus on the side of the road. The band did eventually make it to Austin to play.
Blink-182's summer tour with Lil' Wayne continues. After tomorrow's show in El Paso, the band moves on to shows in Phoenix, Chula Vista, Inglewood and an appearance at Outside Lands in San Francisco before catching a brief break in the touring. See all their scheduled dates here.
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