A sold-out heavy-metal concert in Montreal starring Guns 'n' Roses and Metallica turned into a riot on Saturday after W. Axl Rose, the lead singer of Guns 'n' Roses, called his band off the stage 55 minutes into the show, complaining of voice problems.
Earlier in the concert, which was at Olympic Stadium, Metallica cut short its performance after James Hetfield, its lead singer, suffered second-degree burns to his face, arms and hands when a stage prop exploded. He was taken to Montreal General Hospital and released that night, a hospital spokesman said.
The Montreal police said rioters among the 53,000 audience members smashed stadium windows with an uprooted street lamp, looted a souvenir boutique, burned a sports car and Guns 'n' Roses T-shirts and set dozens of small fires. About 300 club-wielding police officers chased rioters through the streets and fired tear gas to regain control. The police sealed off the area and shut down four nearby subway stations to prevent the riot from spreading to the transit system.
