“Halloween Hellbomb” was forced to end early after a large crowd vandalized a Waymo and blocked traffic outside of the sanctioned-off event area in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 25.
Thrasher Magazine’s yearly Halloween tradition of costumed skaters performing tricks over obstacles at the bottom of a hill was forced to shut down after LAPD used less lethal munitions to disperse the rowdy crowd.
The annual skater event, usually held in Long Beach, features an obstacle at the bottom of a hill or slope that skaters take turns attempting to clear and perform tricks over.
Skaters dressed like Jesus Christ, Sonic the Hedgehog, Jack Skellington, Ozzy Osbourne, WWE’s Mankind and many others icons.
While the slope of 1st Street was perfect for skaters to pick up speed and fly off ramps or rails, it was not large enough to hold the amount of people who attended to watch or participate.
Eventually, skaters began performing their own hill bomb – riding a board down a steep hill and picking up speed – south of the sanctioned event, starting at the top on Grand Avenue and carving their way down. At first, many skaters stopped or crashed before they hit Hill Street. A few brave skaters began blazing through traffic on Hill Street and eventually, they all did.
One lone LAPD squad car arrived shortly after and flashed their lights, but the small crowd of skaters bleeding into the intersection did not care. They yelled and screamed as the squad car retreated, leading to the skaters dancing and rejoicing. Soon after, a full line of police in riot gear showed up in response.
A Waymo carrying no passengers got caught in the intersection and skaters began destroying it, tagging the car and smashing the windows. Some posed and danced atop the vehicle, while others began jumping off and performing tricks. Others threw bottles and rocks at LAPD.
After the crowd refused to move back into the closed-off area, LAPD began firing rubber bullets at the crowd and declared the event unlawful.
“Thank you to everybody who attended yesterday’s event in the classic Hellbomb spirit and to our Hellbomb community worldwide. We would be nothing without the support from our very passionate fanbase,” Organizers said in a statement on Instagram.
“Regarding the incidents that occurred outside our permitted event space, Halloween Hellbomb does not and will never condone any vandalism or activities that do not involve skateboarding in the Halloween spirit,” the statement continued.
By 8 p.m., most of the crowd had dispersed and left the area. Police arrested a couple of skaters that hill bombed through the riot police line.