The man who tackled comedian Dave Chappelle while he was on stage pointed a replica handgun with a knife in it, police said.
Chappelle was speaking to the audience at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, Tuesday when the man jumped on stage and assaulted the legendary comedian. Security personnel chased down the man, and he was arrested by Los Angeles police later.
Initial reports said the suspect had a gun and a knife, but ABC News later reported that police sources indicated the man had a replica gun with a large knife inside of it. Local Fox reporter Phil Shuman posted an image of the kind of gun believed to be found on the suspect.
The man was identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee. It’s unclear what motivated Lee to attack Chappelle, but he had reportedly rapped about him and had composed a song named after him.
The LAPD confirmed in a statement that the replica gun had a knife that folded out of it.
“The suspect produced what was later discovered to be a replica handgun and pointed the item at the victim,” police said in a press release. “Hollywood Bowl uniformed security officers, who witnessed the incident, engaged the suspect and removed him from the victim and took him into custody.”
Videos after the incident show him being taken into an ambulance with severe injuries from his run-in with the security staff.
“The replica handgun that also contained a knife blade was recovered and later processed as evidence,” police added.
Lee was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and booked into jail on $30,000 bail.
Chappelle joked moments after he was tackled that the assailant was a “trans man,” referring to the outrage from transgender activists at comments he had previously made during his comedy specials.
Here’s the video of the attack on Chappelle:
Dave Chappelle Tackled, Slammed on Stage at Hollywood Bowl by Man with Gun | TMZ www.youtube.com