In a perfect world, security guards would break up fights, not start them.

But things were far from perfect Sunday when a brawl between security workers at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival left two people with stab wounds and another with head injuries.

Indio police say two groups of employees for the same security vendor began arguing around 10:25 a.m. at the check-in area of the Empire Polo Fields and that the dispute quickly escalated into a brawl.

Officers broke up the fight and discovered that two men had been stabbed and a third had injuries to his face and head, police said. The third man was taken to a hospital and released later that day.


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The stabbing victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital. One of the victims was stabbed in the stomach and the other was stabbed in his limbs, Indio police said.

The stabbing suspect has not been identified, but police said they have interviewed several witnesses.

The massive festival, which spans two consecutive weekends, draws tens of thousands to the desert community south of Palm Springs each year. Among the musicians who peformed this year were Gun N’ Roses, Ice Cube, LCD Soundsystem and Sia.


Indio police said they made 128 arrests between April 15 and 17 during the first weekend of the festival. Most arrests were for drug and alcohol violations, they said.

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