A Turnstile gig in Richmond, Virginia, ended in controversy last month after a police officer allegedly pepper-sprayed a teenage fan during the band’s set-closing chaos on September 24, 2025.
The incident took place at Brown’s Island, where the Baltimore melodic hardcore heroes were mid-way through their usual stage-invading finale to “Birds” when things turned sour. Local officers had been enlisted to help with event security — but one of them reportedly took things a step too far.
Footage from the night shows an officer raising a pepper spray canister as fans clambered over the barrier to join the band. While one concertgoer narrowly avoided being sprayed, another wasn’t so lucky — the officer can be seen turning and blasting a separate fan directly in the face.
In the clip, Turnstile bassist and vocalist Franz Lyons can also be seen stepping in to defend a fan from security staff attempting to drag them offstage.
According to a new CBS 6 report, Richmond Sheriff Antionette Irving has since launched an investigation into the officer’s use of the chemical agent — which, it turns out, was discharged directly into the face of a 15-year-old concertgoer.
Bodycam footage obtained via public records request shows the aftermath, with the teen describing what happened: “I got shot with, like — I thought it was a beer or something, because people were going crazy the whole time. My face started burning. I couldn’t see anything, and then I went off to the side, yelled ‘pepper spray,’ because that’s what I thought it was, and it ended up being that.”
Visibly in pain and struggling to breathe, the teen was reportedly helped by Lyons himself. In a statement to CBS 6, the boy’s father recalled the surreal moment he realised the bassist had his son’s phone: “His phone is calling me, and it’s the [expletive] bassist from Turnstile who somehow got his phone and is trying to get me to where my son is. Then I get there and he is laying in the fetal position, pepper sprayed. I don’t understand.”
According to another witness captured in the footage, the officer allegedly told bystanders the discharge was accidental: “He said he had it in his hand and didn’t realize the pin was out and it just fired out,” the man said. “The fact that he lied about it is worse. I need to tell these guys at some point that he was disciplined in some way.”
CBS 6 says it has yet to receive an official comment from Sheriff Irving regarding the allegations, though she confirmed that a preliminary investigation has been conducted and remains under review.
A 14-minute compilation of bodycam footage related to the incident has been released via wtvr.com, with an edited version included in CBS 6’s on-air report.
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