British band Sports activities Crew robbed at gunpoint on US tour

The British band Sports activities Crew have been robbed at gunpoint on the primary day of their US tour.

The indie group, who’ve scored two high 10 albums within the UK, misplaced their passports, stage gear and private belongings within the incident, as a thief looted their tour van within the metropolis of Vallejo, within the Bay space of California.

In footage shared with the BBC, the thief will be seen brandishing a gun on the group’s tour supervisor as she approached the van.

“Clearly, if somebody pulls a gun, you run for canopy,” stated singer Alex Rice. “However the factor that struck me about it was the resignation. The folks round us weren’t very panicked in any respect. It appeared like a really on a regular basis prevalence.”

The incident occurred round 5pm UK time (9am in California), because the group set off for the opening date of their tour, in close by Sacramento.

They’d stopped at a Starbucks for breakfast when a passerby alerted them to the theft in progress.

“Any individual opened the door and was like, does anyone have a white Sprinter van? Since you’re being robbed proper now,” drummer Al Greenwood advised the BBC.

“So all of us ran out, shouting. Lauren, our tour supervisor, was barely forward of me, and any individual else ran previous us in the wrong way, and stated, ‘Cautious, he is holding one thing.'”

“I actually thought I used to be about to observe somebody get shot, as a result of it took some time for our tour supervisor to understand,” she added.

“Within the video, you may hear me screaming at her to get down.”

The footage was filmed by one other band member from inside Starbucks. In it, you may hear employees calmly advising the group to get off the road.

“Guys, get inside. Please keep inside,” says a feminine voice, because the bandmates duck again inside the doorway.

“It was very discombobulating as a result of they simply carried on with their shift,” stated Greenwood.

“They began serving drinks immediately,” added Rice.

After they contacted the police, the band say they had been suggested to “fill out a web based kind” concerning the theft, and that no officers had been despatched to research.

The BBC has contacted the native police division for remark.

In accordance with the group, the thief smashed the passenger window of their tour van, and primarily focused electronics, together with movie cameras and laptops they use on stage.

Additionally they misplaced all of their passports and paperwork, in addition to suitcases containing their garments, “so we’ll sporting the identical issues for the following two weeks”.

Greenwood additionally misplaced her journal within the incident.

“I do know it sounds ridiculous,” she stated, “however that is virtually the worst half”.

Fortunately, the group’s devices had been housed in a separate, locked compartment in the back of the van.

The band, who’re selling their forthcoming third album, Boys These Days, stay hopeful they will play the opening present of their tour on Tuesday evening.

‘We’re positively not going to let this put us off,” stated Greenwood.

“And finally, it actually makes you mirror on issues to be pleased about, each right here and at dwelling.”

The tour will even return to the Bay Space on Saturday evening.

“We’re gonna maintain taking part in,” stated Rice. “We have nothing towards the Bay Space. We expect it is nice right here – however it’s unhappy that it is sort of acquired to this kind of place with gun violence.”