Hours after Texas shooting, rocker points fake gun at San Bernardino concert crowd
Only a few hours after a mass shooting at a rural church in Sutherland Springs, Texas left at least 26 people dead and another 20 wounded, controversial glam rocker Marilyn Manson took the stage for a concert near San Bernardino, Calif., attached his microphone to a fake gun and pretended to spray the crowd with bullets.
The rock star, well known for cultivating a morbid image and edgy persona, was performing at a Sunday night concert in Devore, a suburb north of San Bernardino.
Manson performed the concert from a wheelchair, still in recovery after a prop of a giant gun fell on him and crushed his leg during a concert in September.
From his wheelchair, Manson mounted a microphone to a fake rifle and pretended to pepper the crowd with bullets while singing, reported TMZ. The rifle had an orange tip signifying that it was not a real firearm.
In 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and wounded 20 others in a mass shooting in San Bernardino before being killed by police. Manson’s stunt comes at a time when the nation is reeling from an onslaught of deadly mass shootings, including Sunday’s attack and the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, which left more than 50 people dead and hundreds wounded.
The stunt kicked off a wave of criticism on Twitter, though a music reporter for The Sun said many in the crowd didn’t think much of it, other than a few who thought it was “lame.”
Sick is the only word for this. He went to far.
— Cindy Marchetta (@MarchettaCindy) November 6, 2017
Not cool at all. Extremely poor taste.
— Laura (@jus_laura) November 6, 2017
WOW isn't that a little insensitive that he did that considering all the shootings that are happening around the world.
— SixxAmFans4Life (@SixxAmFans4Life) November 6, 2017
Never had a problem with @marilynmanson. Until yesterday. Pretty disgusting.
— christian turner (@lowballexpress1) November 6, 2017
Manson is known for his provocative performances. His dark image and shock-jock musicianship led to years of protests and allegations that his band performed Satanic rituals onstage, reported a 1997 New York Times report.
His name was plunged further into the public arena after it was erroneously reported that the shooters of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre were inspired by his music.
Manson told NME he “deserved a Grammy” for being the musician blamed for the most deaths.
This story was originally published November 6, 2017 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Hours after Texas shooting, rocker points fake gun at San Bernardino concert crowd."