Mugshot of XXXtentacion (that's a red tattoo under his right eye)

Shortly after regaining consciousness after he was blindsided onstage at the Observatory on June 7, XXXTentacion went on Instagram Live. He seemed to claim that the venue’s security team played a part by hiding the assailant before the attack: “The f—— venue ’bout to get sued. And they basically tried to hide the n—— as well. The n—— that knocked me out, they was hiding him behind the f—— curtain. Just letting you all know, that’s what happened.”

Via email, Observatory North Park general manager Paris Landen stated, “Our guards are internal employees who work diligently for all our shows and all different artists. In no way were they in collusion with the assailants.” She said security guards “initiated proper control holds & restraints to safely break up any altercations that arose.” The venue also vowed to issue refunds for the event.

While XXXTentacion was mad at the Observatory, local residents made their displeasure clear on the social-media site Nextdoor.com, delivering both eyewitness accounts and long-running frustrations. One neighbor claimed that, “A gun was pulled by a concert goer 100 feet from where my 6 month old slept just four days ago. Over a dozen cops had to disperse a brawl for the 5th time this year....”

Bianca Amann, a resident active on the thread, said in an interview that “My sense is the neighbors are not interested in shutting the venue down. In fact, some want the cabaret license loosened or eliminated so we can have more local ‘LIVE’ music in restaurants and tasting rooms. The issues are that the management and bookers are in OC and seem to have a bottom line value system in booking. The local management’s hands are tied. The surrounding neighbors for several blocks want a face-to-face meeting with OC owners & local legislators to address selective booking, improved security, parking, thefts, and a plan to address the urine, feces & condoms left in yards and driveways after certain shows.”

John Ly, director of community outreach for mayor Kevin Faulconer, has informed Amann that councilmember Chris Ward is organizing a meeting to address the neighbors’ issues with the Observatory.