American DJ, songwriter, and record producer Diplo was “very sad” after a shooting took place during his performance in Brazil on Tuesday (25.02.20).
The 41-year-old disc jockey was manning the decks at a Sao Paulo Carnival Street party when shots were fired, but he doesn’t want the incident to “end the freedom” brought by the “spirit” of the occasion.
Diplo who is the one-third of the Electronic Dance music group Major Lazer took to Instagram to share photos from the incident, in which he could be seen ducking following the gunfire.
He captioned the post in Portuguese: “I am very sad to know that people were hurt in a moment of joy and happiness like Carnival. It’s been 20 years since I came to Brazil and it was the first time that I witnessed any type of violence. But we must not let this end the freedom brought by the spirit of Carnival.”
He then revealed he had planned to continue his set but then the country “started to cry” with a thunderstorm.
He added in English: “This is a tough country.. It’s bullet proof, maybe even invincible.. Its definitely blessed.
“We were actually ready 15 minutes later to get on and do a show for everyone in Sao Paulo just as we made sure the medical teams were good..But that’s when thunder and lightning started to pour down as if Brazil started to cry.”
Diplo whose real name is Thomas Pentz vowed not to let the shooting put him off returning to the city.
He concluded: “I will see you next year Sao Paulo because you know we love you[heart emojis]”
While Diplo was uninjured and taken to safety when the shots were fired, according to The Sun newspaper, a man and woman were shot during what is believed to be an attempted theft but survived.
The incident is said to have occurred when a man tried to snatch a chain from another’s neck, prompting the would-be victim to pull out a gun and shoot his assailant in the stomach, with the alleged thief’s female friend hit in the thigh when she got caught in the crossfire.
