PHILADELPHIA — Local coreman Alex Gonzalez was struck down by a hail of fists in a brutal crowdkilling incident at last night’s Strangulation show, according to horrified onlookers, only two days before his much-anticipated mosh retirement.
Tragically, Gonzalez was at the show specifically to celebrate his mosh milestone. Those close to Gonzalez confirmed he was particularly excited to “finally move forward” and replace grizzled scene veteran Frank McCarthy as the next “old guy by the bar.”
“He had his game plan set for the night. We were already headed to the bar for one last round of soda when it all went down,” said an emotional McCarthy, Gonzalez’s long-term mosh partner. “Strangulation was wrapping up, the crowd wasn’t really anticipating an encore … but then, they played ‘Salvation Denied,’ and Alex looked at me like, ‘Hey, one more song won’t hurt.’”
Witnesses claim an unknown subject, decked out in a ski mask and ADIDAS tracksuit, punched and spinkicked his way across the room following a tense 15 seconds of feedback, just as the breakdown hit the reprise.
“Dude was touring the pit with his fists. It didn’t matter if you were a man, a woman holding some dude’s jacket, or a child — there was no discretion. I ducked in time, but two or three people behind me ate it,” said showgoer Sarah Simpson. “Then he threw a roundhouse kick flush to the face of [Gonzalez], and he went down hard.”
Security footage showed that as the wild mosher approached Gonzalez, McCarthy dropped his drink and ran towards his mosh partner of 12 years.
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“I saw it from the balcony. It was, like, all in slow motion. [McCarthy] ran through the crowd and into the pit just in time to see his friend hit the ground,” said witness Patrick Flowers. “He clutched his friend’s head in his hands and screamed in the air. It was super sad.”
After his partner was carted off in an Uber, McCarthy announced his plan for vengeance in the name of his fallen mosh brother.
“Nobody deserves to go out like this. Gonzalez has a large record collection back home depending on him,” said McCarthy. “I will not rest until I stop every bullshit crowdkiller in this scene. Mark my words,” he added before walking off into the night.
Article by Eric Nguyen @expiredtvdinner. Photo by Shelby Kettrick @ShelbyShootsStuff.