the shamptonian institute

Seven victims, aged 15 to 30, were stabbed Sunday morning (June 22, 2008) at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, with one victim requiring a life flight evacuation for a wound to the upper torso, in yet another tragic episode of ‘why drugs are bad’. I called the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to find out if the victim was ok, but the operator was unable to give me any information. I learned from the message boards that the victim was in stable condition.

Meanwhile, on Friday afternoon (June 20, 2008), lighting had passed through the area, igniting over a hundred blazes that would quickly choke the sky with a thick, unhealthy smoke. The Santa Rosa local paper, the Press Democrat, has good local coverage of the blazes which continue to rage. The air was so bad I slept in my car one night, and it reminded me of the San Diego fires in 2003. The sun was caught behind a smoky veil for the entire day, an orange globe trying to penetrate the haze. It is now hazy over the entire SF bay area. I woke up last night gasping for breath and had to break out my inhaler to help breathe.

More information on the fires from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Also, the Northern California Lightning Series Summary

For info on the stabbing attacks, the message boards from the festival have multiple first hand accounts of the incident.

This is the Incident Report for the stabbing:

(Title of Crime/Incident) 664/187 PC
Report Number: 08-1788

On 6-22-08 at approxiamtely 1000 Hrs the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the Boonville Fairgrounds 14400 Highway 128 regarding approxiamtely 7 stabbing victims at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival.

Upon arrival deputies were directed to the camping area behind the fairgrounds where they found that a Anthony Carbajal had been detained by SNWMF Security. At location witnesses indicated that Carbajal took an unknown drug prior to the incident and without warning Carbajal got to his feet and removed a pocket knife and opened it. At this time Carbajal began to attack people trying to stab or slash anyone in the area. Witnesses advised that Carbajal gave up the knife and was detained by event security.

At this time Anderson Valley Ambulance and medical personnel arrived and began administering first aid to the numerous victims. One victim was transported via air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with a serious wound to his upper torso. One victim was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center where he was treated and released for a stab wound to his leg. All of the other victims were treated and released on scene.

Carbajal was transported and booked into the Mendocino County Jail for numerous counts of attempted murder. Carbajal is being held on 250,000 dollar bail.

By Sergeant Scott Poma; Approved By Lieutenant Kurt Smallcomb

Here is my own personal account from the weekend:

The temp was reading 101 when I pulled into the Mendocino County Fairgrounds for the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival on Friday afternoon. My hypothesis that the temperature averaged 98 degrees in the shade appeared solid and highly probable (should you be able to find shade). After spending an hour setting up my tent and some shade, my head was already starting to tingle from the heat, so I collapsed to the ground for a quick break and doused my head with water.

What would seem like a brief reprieve from the heat in the late afternoon, a thundershower passing over the area, would become the catalyst for over a hundred wildfires that the accompanying lightning would soon ignite. This is video of the thunderstorm that sparked the wildfires

I was at the festival to assist my best friends at their vending booth (a clothing line for children). A family of four with two children ages ages 6 and 8, I hadn’t seen them in almost a year and it was a joy to see the kids and catch up with them all. Similar to other music festivals, there were no shortage of activities and kids areas to keep them entertained, including slip and slides, tables to make art, inflatable bounce houses, musical tents for kids to pick up a drum or marimba and play, to name but a few.

On one side of my friend’s booth were a small group of talented glass blowers with live demonstrations that the children loved and couldn’t stop taking about, and on the other a troupe of hula hoopers who had a vast assortment of hula hoops that kids at the festival could play with throughout the day.

It was a ‘no dogs’ event, so the hula hoop troupe thought it a good idea to bring their cat…on a leash. It reminded me of a scene from the Big Lebowski, “…nice marmot.” It kept sneaking over to our booth and trying to get into the tent. The kids wondered if it was trying to pee on their clothes. I eventually figured out it just needed a friend. Poor thing; it was a just a lonely kitten on a leash, who wanted to curl up on my lap and take a nap. I obliged.

Sunday morning, a stark naked woman from the hula hoop troupe would poke her head under the the glass blower’s canopy, whilst in the midst of a haphazard attempt at sequestering an exuberant and unleashed kitten on a wild, wickedly-fast escape. The feline’s spry nature and spontaneous sprint would prove too elusive for the slow, naked human, who would eventually bump into a cabinet of delicately displayed glass art, sending it ground-ward bound to the explicative-laden chagrin of the owner.

While you might presume that such chicanery could nay be topped, you’d be sadly mistaken. The next night, a volunteer at the festival would steal a bag from a nearby vendor, then sneak into the glass blower’s tent in the middle of the night, mere inches away from a sleeping glass blower, and steal over a thousand dollars worth of merchandise. The thief was unable to pull off the caper without being noticed by another vendor, and was ultimately chased down, beaten, and arrested. The glass blower’s artwork was returned, and speculation and disbelief ensued.

Of course, these events pale in comparison to the devastating fires that have developed, as well as the senseless stabbing that occurred. While 99.9% of the people I met over the weekend were kind-hearted souls, a music festival, whether it is this one or Coachella or Bonnaroo, is not without the risks of a nefarious element that you must keep a watchful eye on, especially if you are a parent or guardian.

It’s sad that such a violent event may tarnish the reputation of the normally peaceful and warm atmosphere of this festival. An eyewitness reported over the weekend that one of the detectives, on the scene after the stabbing, had told them that last year a festival goer was arrested at a local breakfast spot when he sat down, slashed his wrists and began eating his flesh in front of local families that were there for Sunday morning breakfast.

Here’s a photo gallery where you can see the air go from crystal clear to hazy orange.