Brazil’s beloved Carnival celebrations kicked off this week and brought in thousands of locals and tourists from around the world to join in on the festivities—including Diplo. The 41-year-old DJ, who has one of the most dedicated Brazilian fanbases, arrived in São Paolo on Tuesday to perform during a Carnival street party. But things took an unexpected turn as he was about to kick off his set.
Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Pentz, was busy taking selfies and recording an Instagram video when gunshots rang out among the crowd. In a clip from the startling moment, we see fans immediately stop dancing as someone is heard shouting “everyone out of the way!”
Diplo reportedly ducked for cover as security guards ran to protect him and audience members.
According to witnesses at the scene, the shootout took place after a man attempted to snatch a chain off of someone’s neck in the audience. The victim pulled out a gun and shot the alleged thief in the stomach and a woman in the thigh (witnesses suggest she might have been friends or associates with the alleged thief, and got caught in the crossfire as a result).
A photographer, Amauri Nehn, spoke to a Brazilian publication, UOL, about the scene.
“Everyone on top of the truck bent down and security guards went to protect Diplo,” he said, originally in Portuguese. “Someone heard a shot and warned the people who were on top of the truck to duck. When everything calmed down, the security guards removed him [Diplo] from the truck.”
Meanwhile, Nehn caught photos (above) of the chaos.
“I went to the side of the trio and saw a boy, who was hit in the abdomen, and a girl, who was hit in the leg. I didn’t hear the shots. The sound was loud from a lot of people shouting,” he said.
The rest of the famed DJ’s set, along with the street party, was subsequently canceled. According to the São Paolo Security Secretariat, a man was arrested for attempted theft on his way out of the party.