Fresh appeal for Brixton crush witnesses
Police especially want to hear from people who might have footage or photos.
Last updated 17th Mar 2023
Detectives investigating the crushing incident at the O2 Brixton Academy continue to appeal for witnesses to get in touch and share what they saw.
In addition, the team is keen to see any photos or video footage of the events on Thursday, 15 December.
Detective Superintendent Dave Kennett, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said: “The effects of this incident were tragic. The surge in the crowd resulted in two deaths and critical injuries to a third person.
“It is important that we know why the surge happened, for the families of those who never returned home, and for the safety of those who attend music events in the future. If you have anything to share please do get in touch.”
Nigerian Afrobeats singer/songwriter, Asake, had been scheduled to perform that evening in the last of three shows in London that week.
A number of people sustained serious injuries and were treated at the scene by staff, police officers and London Ambulance Service paramedics.
Two of those who were most seriously injured, 33-year-old Rebecca Ikumelo and 23-year-old Gaby Hutchinson, died in hospital in the days that followed. A 21-year-old woman remains in hospital in a critical condition.
“If you were there when this tragic incident happened, if you have footage or pictures of the evening, please come forward and speak to my team"
Detective Superintendent Dave Kennett, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, added: “If you were there when this tragic incident happened, if you have footage or pictures of the evening, please come forward and speak to my team. We need your help to establish what happened so that we can provide answers to the families and loved ones of those who were so seriously, or fatally injured.
"We know there were thousands of people there and that many will have seen what happened. If you were there please don’t ignore this plea – imagine the families who are struggling to come to terms with their loss and do the right thing, share what you saw with my team who are waiting to her from you.
“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has come forward so far, but we still need more perspectives of the events that took place in the crowd that night.
“We are carrying out a comprehensive analysis of any available CCTV footage in and around the scene, but, if you have footage filmed that night we’d very much like to see it.
“Footage shared on social media immediately after the incident showed dozens of people recording what was happening - we know that there is a vast amount of material on people's phones, sharing that material with us would take just minutes of your time.
“Two people have died and a third is still very seriously injured and we owe it to them, their families and anyone else affected by this incident to leave no stone unturned.”
How to get in touch
You can get in touch with police by typing Operation Wickmar on your internet search engine. Follow the Major Incident Public Portal page to Operation Wickmar and click on it. You will be able to upload video content to this portal to assist the investigation.
Alternatively, the link to the Major Incident Public Portal can be found here.