BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — A baptism party in east Bakersfield turned violent Saturday night, leaving the band “Los de la Procedencia” injured and with damaged equipment. The band, consisting of Jonathan Lopez, Omar Beltran, and Gabino Guerrero, was performing at a home near Oregon and Robinson streets when a large fight broke out just after midnight.
Bakersfield police responded to reports of “multiple subjects being hit with chairs and other objects.” Upon arrival, officers found one person on the ground, described as a “male passed out bleeding through the mouth.” Multiple arrests were made.
Jonathan Lopez, a member of the band, recounted the chaos. “It’s happened before, but we haven’t gotten hit. I mean, the fight, we’ve seen the fight, we just probably pick up and take off. But this time it didn’t happen like that,” he said.
The band was hired to play for six hours, but only made it to the fifth hour. Lopez described the scene: “They started fighting outside and then they brought it inside. There was a guy throwing bottles. There was a fight here, a fight over there.”
During the altercation, Lopez said people fell on top of their equipment. “I just got hit on the side of the head. I fell, and like five guys on top of me kicking me and punching me, throwing bottles at me,” he said. Lopez ended up with stitches on his forearm and bruised ribs, while another band member required six stitches on his head…