[RANA] A Nightmare in Fantasia: Two Dead after G6 Shooting at Magnolia Event.

[Al-Malikah]

 

THE RANA REPORT

Your source for the latest Los Santos news, investigative journalism, and city-wide updates.

 

 

A Nightmare in Fantasia: Two Dead after G6 Shooting at Magnolia Event.

BY RANA KHATI

 

Fantasia Event Hall Logo.

 

On January 23rd, 2021, a Gruppe SIx guard fatally shot a young African-American man after a security breach lead to a brawl on the dance-floor of the Fantasia Event Hall; later, the same guard was then fatally shot while sitting detained in the back of an LSPD cruiser. The G6 Fantasia Hall shooting has seized the internet in the recent days, with press releases from Magnolia Records, G6, and Fantasia, a call to protest G6, and many often conflicting online accounts of what actually happened. 

 

The Rana Report contacted both G6 and Magnolia Records to hear what their understanding of the truth is to present you with a more solid understanding of the nights events from the different perspectives.

 

G6 Armed Response Logo

 

Rana sat down for an interview with CEO Clifford Hunter of Gruppe Six, who has been the CEO for half a year now:

 

Spoiler

Rana Khati:  Let's establish some foundational information. G6 usually gets an assessment of how many people will be at an event, then they select an amount of guards that makes sense for the security needs and the safety of their people, yes?

 

Clifford Hunter: Not exactly. We get notified of the needs of our client. In relation to those needs, we make our own calculations of how many guards need to be there in order to manage.

 

Excerpt from G6 press release linked here

 

RK: Your press statement in[sinuates] that there was a level of deception in their estimate of how big the event would be... namely that Magnolia would be at the event and therefore would have a substantially increased turnout. Do you believe that Fantasia deliberately hid this facet? Were they under obligation to disclose this?

 

CH: I'll start off with saying that this was not our first service done at Fantasia.: We've also serviced tasks there. Let me speak to you in exact numbers. First start, 2nd of November. 2 guards requested, no incidents reported.

 

RK [Interrupts] : Sorry for the interruption. When you disburse two guards, are one usually armed? 

 

CH: Depends on the minimum, if the client requires one. If the client requires 1 at least armed, out of 2, 1 can be armed, or 2.Some clients have no weapon requests. In this case we send guards as we have available. Armed, not armed.  We do not charge differently for an unarmed or an armed guard.

 

CH [Continues]: Next. 4th December. 3 armed guards requested with metal detectors.

 

So you already see, we have some sort of a business relationship built here. Few services done, no issues.

 

RK: Onlookers claim there was one fatality, yet your press release indicates a guard was fatally injured.

 

CH: Correct. We'd like to keep their name unlisted as this will bring a calm memory to their families. We do confirm that a guard was fatally shot that night in this same incident.

 

RK: Do you know if any of the guards working that evening had been deployed to Fantasia in the past?

 

CH: No. They haven't been.

 

RK: Did the guard who [fatally shot] the young man [have] any incidents in his past that may have cropped up... and is he in fact the one who was fatally shot?

 

CH: There's not been any incidents with him in the past. The guard was in fact a supervisor at the assignment and yes, he is the one who was fatally shot.

 

RK: Many online are stating the situation was a matter of "G6 killing a young man due to an unpaid entry ticket." Do you consider that to be an accurate assessment of the inciting events?

 

CH: The fact even people believe that a guard could shoot someone for not paying a fee is ridiculous. The person was shot for attempting to assault the guard with a deadly object - a glass bottle.

 

RK: In use of force cases like this, the main thing that any law enforcement body or even security company might want to ensure is that there was no viable alternative other than the use of force. Do you stand by this use of force? Was the man threatening your guard with the glass bottle or bystanders?

 

CH: If someone is standing one feet in front of you, together with 4 of his other friends. And they swing a glass bottle in your head. I apologize, but I'd shoot them too. A glass bottle is a deadly object. Deadlier than a baseball bat. Similar to a knife. What happened, was according to my reports - as I said, I was not there until after it happened— Two males avoided entry and ran into the club, using the crowd to benefit themselves. Some of the guards quickly noticed them and ran after them, trying to stop them.

 

Usually the procedure is simple, the guards stop the males, they pay the fee and everything resumes. In this situation though, one of the males ran towards another group of his, while the other jumped on the stage. The guards split after each male. Suddenly the guards on the dance floor found themselves in a brawl with the males, who were bothering other random civilians on the dance floor, insulting them. A fist brawl. After a few seconds of a brawl a male reached for a glass bottle and swung against one of my guards.

 

He was shot. The shots happened after the male decided to use deadly force against a guard. Until then, the commotion was purely physical.

 

RK: And then the guard left the hall and was fatally shot himself?

 

CH:  The guard was detained for further questioning by LSPD. While being detained, he was shot by another male. He was in fact shot while sitting in the back of a police cruiser.

 

RK: There is significant public backlash, is G6 willing to make any changes to ease the anxieties of members of the community who may still feel that the lethal force was unwarranted? How is G6 looking to move forward from this moment?

 

CH: Gruppe 6, despite not having to, has decided to cut any payment from Fantasia. The guards did not receive any payment that night. This is entirely our own decision.

 

We've also been accused of stealing Fantasia's entrance fees.

 

RK: How do you respond to that accusation?

 

CH: I apologize but, I had bigger concerns to deal [with] at that time with a dead guard and a civilian. We left the area and we returned to our station for an immediate briefing. We've notified Fantasia, Dante Ricci, that we will transfer him his fees once we're done settling our internal issues. About 30 minutes after the shootout the fees were transferred to his bank account.

 

So the accusations of us stealing the entrance fees is false. We had bigger focuses at that time than someone's money.

 

RK: So [you claim] at this time G6 has no unpaid funds to Fantasia and the 30 minute delay was a matter of prioritizing a developing security threat scenario.

CH: Absolutely, the 30 minute delay was caused due to having to deal with a death of a guard, and a civilian. Gruppe 6 respects people's lives more than entrance fees.

 

RK: Are your guards trained in de-escalation?

 

CH: We do host biweekly physical training events in our training facility to deal with different situations. So yes, they are.

I'd also like to mention that when we retreated from Fantasia and arrived at our station, two individuals came at our office doors. They presented themselves as Magnolia managers and demanded to collect the entry fees. We obviously don't just hand out cash to random people who come and ask.

 

Considering even the fact Magnolia is not our client, but Fantasia is. Anyways, further into the night I had the Magnolia manager in my office. We were talking, and I notified him of what happened. He said that he is not affiliated with those 2 people, we have them on CCTV too.

 

He said that they [had] a Hawaiian Snow stand in Fantasia and that they were not authorized to collect any fees. This is the reason why we've decided to ban Hawaiian Snow from future use of our services, due to malicious statements in order to benefit financially.

 

RK: [Any final statements on the event?]

CH: Our job is not to be liked by everyone. Our job is to protect our clients. The situation could've been handled without a weapon being used. But that is the personal decision of the guard. The guard was authorized to use deadly force. Not every guard is a professional marine in combat art

 

The violence was brought upon Gruppe 6. It was diverted away from the random civilians on the dance floor.

 

In my opinion, our job was done.

 

 

Manager Daniel Jones (left) & COO Melissa Cole (right) of Magnolia Records

 

We also sat with both Chief Operations Officer Melissa Cole and Manager Daniel Jones of Magnolia Records who were on scene at the event and had their own perspective of the harrowing event:

 

Spoiler

Rana Khati:  There are a few narratives striking the digital waves about this event. My goal is to get the truth as close to reality as possible and to get people's impressions.

 

Melissa Cole: Of course, only have an interest in sharing the truth really.

 

Daniel Jones: That meets our goal, we just want everybody to know the truth.

 

RK: So first off, were either of you present at the event?

 

DJ: We both...

 

MC: Both of us were there. I was on the ground floor when it all started then was on my radio to Dan telling him there was a problem when the owner of Fantasia was hit by someone.

 

 

RK: Was that assault unrelated to the event in question?

 

MC: I think Dante was involved in trying to chase the guy down, but I'm not honestly sure on that part.

RK: G6 claims that the young man who would later be shot entered [the venue] without paying. [The] guards attempted to stop and collect payment, a usual tactic. [T]hey refused to pay, began harassing people on the dance floor, and finally the man who would later be shot reached for a glass bottle to attack the guard with. He was then shot. The remaining men fled. Does that account track [with your experience]?

 

DJ: Not at all. There's a major lie in there, so let me explain. This young guy came to party, he was in there to enjoy the event along with his friends. He did go on inside breaching security, they did not pay the fee and for that the security chased him along one another, they were two or more; not entirely sure. However one of the two started running around to the fear of his life as guards started running after him with flashlight batons trying to down him.

 

His friend shipped in and tried using his bare hands to attack the guard. So the guards opened fire upon him, and mag-dumped him. He was lying injured in a pool of blood when he also took several more shots. In fact. We got our hands on the CCTV and I will be releasing it tonight for everybody to see. With viewer discretion advised.

 

RK: How many guards opened fire?

 

DJ: One opened fire, another attacked him whilst injured with the baton while the other kept mag-dumping him.

 

RK:  [Is] Mag dumping… flashlight bashing?

 

DJ: No. Mag dumping is emptying their magazine into the poor young guy's body. Even while they're injured and downed on the floor. They shot him down severely.

 

Not to forget. This kind of an escalation took place in the middle of a crowd. These guards were very irresponsible when they opened fire; they put everyone in there in danger. We're lucky we survived.

 

RK:  What is the relationship between Magnolia and Fantasia?

 

DJ: Magnolia Records hosted the event at the Fantasia Event Hall.

 

MC: We provided the artists for the night.

 

DJ: Event was Magnolia Records hosted with eight of our Artists performing. And the event hall was the location we hosted said event at.

 

RK:  Do you have an ongoing business partnership with Fantasia?

 

MC: We do. Hopefully will get a chance to do this again in the near future, without the tragedy.

 

DJ: Whilst this event is the first to host there, we did have a partnership sorted with them for future events as well.

 

RK:  The entry fees. Where does that money go... Magnolia or Fantasia? Or is it split?

 

DJ: They go to Fantasia since they're the ones who hired them and then we handle it from there. But what happened is after said shooting, LSPD stormed in and asked everyone out. Hence; G6 was outside until they were released; following with their departure from the event without any prior notifications. They took entry fees along with them and later on wired fifteen thousand only to Dante Ricci, Fantasia Event Hall's owner claiming it is what they collected.

 

Such a crowd with 700 entry ticket fee; we're direly sure it was not only that. They scammed us all.

 

MC: Basically they are claiming we had 22 people there with that maths.

 

DJ: CCTV'll surely prove everything.

 

RK:  G6 claims that two men identifying as Magnolia employees came to their HQ in Strawberry to collect. He said later that Magnolia denied these men were ever under the employ of Magnolia. Do you know these two individuals? 

 

DJ: That's not correct. I did claim Lux [as an employee]; one of them not to be under the Magnolia umbrella--the other was never identified. Mr. Hunter called him "another Black male" and never did actually give a proper description I can lean on. Nor provided their CCTV, or any useful information.

 

RK: G6 confirmed one of their guards was fatally shot while sitting in the back of a police cruiser outside of the event. They claim that this is the guard who fatally shot the young man.

 

DJ: We both were still inside when said shooting happened. We're not sure who shot who and why.

 

MC: I heard the same from an officer as well…

 

DJ: [T]he LSPD did handle it, I believe.

 

RK:  Alright.. so... G6 clearly has elicited a strong reaction from the community. What if anything can they do to move forward and begin regaining the trust of Magnolia Records and the broader community?

 

MC: Well, unfortunately I know this isn't G6's first slip up. So, we won't be allowing our artists to work in places with G6 Security.

 

DJ: That'll never happen. The amount of stories we got from people when we shared the tragedy is crazy. It doesn't seem like we're the only ones who experienced such events with them.

 

MC: Unless we have someone of our own personally assigned to said artist.

 

RK:  One of the claims in the G6 press release is that Fantasia did not accurately convey the volume of people, or in their words "neatly hidden" the fact that Magnolia would be hosting a large event? At any time. Did Fantasia seem to hide the existence of Magnolia at the event to your mind?

 

DJ: We had posted listed up on every platform of media indicating that "The biggest Hip Hop, Rap, and R&B" event's to be hosted on that date, location, and time.

 

MC: I'll send you the posters now...

 

DJ: We used.. posters mainly, we also will share them along with the CCTV.

 

RK: How do you plan to demonstrate [tomorrow]?

MC: Peacefully.

 

DJ: I personally had contact with the one heading said protest and referred him to the permit section.

 

MC: [T]he aim is to just make it clear the city has had enough.

 

RK: Any final statements from Magnolia on moving forward from this event? Something that can be of value to the wider Los Santos community? Any lessons to be learned from such a tragedy?

 

MC: I'd like to add something yeah. Magnolia Records planned this event for months, along with Dante and Fantasia, our artists have done extra time in the studio to get all their music ready in time to perform.

 

It took G6 about 15 minutes to destroy that, along with lives.

 

While we are unsure at this time whether Fantasia Event Hall will be taking civil action against G6 with regard to the lost revenue, we are sure that the loss in lives is a cost beyond measure. The LSPD has no comment at this time. The story will be updated with a link to the CCTV footage when it is released by Magnolia Records.

 

With a community in heartache, a demonstration planned for tomorrow January 25th is sure to bring people together to express collective frustration, grief, and anger but may provide the necessary closure many need.

 

The Rana Report will be covering the protest and has reached out to Fantasia Event Hall to arrange a final interview on the harrowing night, perhaps to lend the last bit of clarity needed for Los Santans to have a clearer picture of a truly dark night.

 

UPDATED 10:58 pm 1/25: 

CCTV Footage Released

 

With the release of the CCTV footage, one can see much more of t he situation. below you can see the young man being shot for the first time in the crowd, The Rana Report cannot detect glass bottles near his position. The images show the initial shot and as he is falling after having been shot three times, another security guard winds up for a strike with the flashlight. While it does show the security officer shooting the young man a number of times, the CCTV appears to show that the guard stopped shooting once the victim was on the ground.

 

These images are disturbing and should not be viewed by sensitive readers.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

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Edited January 25, 2021 by Al-Malikah
formatting gore, yet again

[Al-Malikah]

• Username: RKHATI
   

Comment:  Did you attend? Feel free to 'sound off' in the comments section here! 

Edited January 25, 2021 by Al-Malikah

[lux]

• Username: LFR
   

Comment:  Absolutely criminal the amount this firm is lying. I'm glad everyone is cancelling their contracts. When the CCTV drops, it'll show everything. There were no glass bottles, no threats, no brawl - just a guy running away from Security guards trying to hit him with flashlights (who are so badly trained ended up hitting each other multiple times) before one of them shot the place up. They could have apologised but instead they've doubled down on their lies - they've set themselves up for total failure in this city.

[SnikeritisLV]

 

Username:YourNewDad445

Comment:G6 has to be stopped, something has to be done about this. 

 

[celestialrage]

Username: NOAHGASHI

Comment: Doubling down on the lies huh? Join the movement - We're protesting these corrupt fucking murderers tomorrow at 6. Right at their front door. https://face.gta.world/pages/cancelg6

[Rafiki]

Username: Missy

Comment: There was a line in this interview that made my heart drop and honestly feel a little bit scared to live in this city and country. 

"If someone is standing one feet in front of you, together with 4 of his other friends. And they swing a glass bottle in your head. I apologize, but I'd shoot them too. A glass bottle is a deadly object. Deadlier than a baseball bat. Similar to a knife."

 

Lets put aside the fact they didn't just shoot at the guy, they shot into a bloody crowd of people. They didn't shoot once, they shot until they were out of bullets. 
Now I've lived here for a couple of years but I was born in England. Sadly people get bottled and stabbed in England. At pubs, at almost every festival worth going to! It happens a lot and obviously it isn't an option for security there to whip out guns and start ending lives in England because we have different rules concerning guns. 

This is America, things are different here. But are they so different that the head of a huge security firm can seriously say or believe something like this? Is this seriously a valid reason to shoot someone even if we believe the tale he's spinning. Comparing it to my "motherland" one last time if you had the right to shoot someone with a smashed bottle in their hand. Oh God England would have so many deaths at pubs every damn weekend.
A security firm should be trained to deal with situations like this, specifically this bottle-weapon situation they're claiming happened (Some say there was no bottle at all) without getting your gun out. By using the staff you're there with, to protect the venue with. Jesus train your guards in how to not use their REAL deadly weapon as much as you train them on how to use it. 

[ThatDutchPerson]

Username: realNikkiJames

Comment: NIKKI.com, Pillbox Hospital, ULSA and some other smaller venues already declared their support and have cancelled their contracts with G6 or refuse to cooperate with G6 businesses. City is holding an emergency meeting soon too. Boycot G6-contracts, protest every night if we have to at their HQ, and let them know that this city had enough of their license to kill! #StormTheBuilding #Capitol2.0

[Halloween]

Username: YouGotCaughtInAspiderWeb

 

 

Comment: CANCEL G6!

[.Dan]

Username: clayton

 

Comment: It is what it is.

[Shokkoth]

30 minutes ago, Nikki said:

Username: realNikkiJames

Comment: NIKKI.com, Pillbox Hospital, ULSA and some other smaller venues already declared their support and have cancelled their contracts with G6 or refuse to cooperate with G6 businesses. City is holding an emergency meeting soon too. Boycot G6-contracts, protest every night if we have to at their HQ, and let them know that this city had enough of their license to kill! #StormTheBuilding #Capitol2.0

Username: CancelIdiots

Comment: Does your protest include power-washing their whole building, parking lot and vehicles? Chicks be tripping, making all this porn and uploading it to a fake dating website and don't even know what a protest is. Shit, you can protest and clean my house. Make me a sandwich too while yo at it. Just please stop holding a water hose like you'd hold a dildo.

 

**A phone recording of Nikki and Ella washing the Gruppe Six Strawberry building is attached**