Scary stuff.
A man armed with a gun and a knife was arrested at an arena in Georgia recently – just hours before the venue was set to host a Megan Moroney concert.
According to WSBTV, police were called to Akins Ford Arena in Athens at around 5 pm on February 23 after a man made it past security and was walking around the arena taking photos before the concert.
When confronted by police, the man was identified as David Allen, who said that he was inside to scout locations for a movie that was being filmed on the University of Georgia campus called 21 Down. The indie film, which is set to star Ashley Judd, is currently being filmed in the Atlanta area and tells the story of Caden Cox, the first person with Down Syndrome to play and score in a college football game.
But officers contacted the UGA police department, and the university said they had no record of the man.
He also admitted to having a firearm and a knife, and was discovered to have an extra magazine and a camera in his backpack.
Security for the arena decided to press charges, and Allen was ultimately arrested for trespassing. Court records for Athens-Clarke county don’t return any results for charges against Allen, so it’s not clear whether those are still pending or whether the situation was ultimately resolved and the charges dropped.
The stop in her home state was part of Moroney’s limited run Meet Me On Cloud 9 tour following the release of her latest album. The tour featured 9 shows in 9 days, and offered tickets for…you guessed it, $9. Tickets were available in person at the box office on the day of the show, and Allen was arrested just about an hour and a half before doors opened, so it’s likely that there were already quite a few fans around the arena at the time the man was in the arena.
Obviously we all hope that it was a big misunderstanding and that he didn’t pose a threat, but you really can’t be too careful these days given everything that’s going on.
Moroney will be back out on the road in May with her official Cloud 9 Tour, which kicks off in Ohio and runs through October in Belfast, UK.
CLOUD 9 TOUR:
MAY
29 | Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
30 | Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
JUNE
2 | Chicago, IL – United Center
5 | Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
6 | Greensboro, NC – First Horizon Coliseum
8 | Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
12 | Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
13 | St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
16 | Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
18 | Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
19 | Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
20 | Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
JULY
7 | Boston, MA – TD Garden
9 | Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
10 | Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
11 | Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
14 | Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
16 | Orlando, FL – Kia Center
17 | Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
18 | Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
24 | Monticello, IA – Great Jones County Fair
25 | Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
26 | Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
28 | Denver, CO – Ball Arena
AUGUST
1 | Portland, OR – Moda Center
2 | Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
5 | Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
7 | Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
11 | Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
14 | Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
15 | Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
16 | Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
18 | Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
21 | Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
22 | Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
SEPTEMBER
13 | Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene
15 | Stockholm, SE – Annexet
18 | Cologne, DE – Carlswerk Victoria
19 | Tilburg, NL – 013 Poppodium
21 | Paris, FR – Le Trianon
23 | London, UK – Eventim Apollo
26 | Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
27 | Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
OCTOBER
1 | Belfast, UK – SSE Arena
