December 6: On This Day in World History … briefly
The incident was caught on camera and became a central scene in the documentary Gimme Shelter. Passaro was charged with murder. After an eight-man, four-woman jury deliberated for 12 and a half hours, following 17 days of testimony, Passaro was acquitted on grounds of self-defense.
1969: Murder at Altamont Speedway
An 18-year old black youth, Meredith Curly Hunter Jr, was murdered in front of the stage while The Rolling Stones performed at a free concert at Altamont Speedway in California. During the performance, Hunter approached the stage, and was violently driven off by members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club who had agreed to serve as security guards. He subsequently returned to the stage area, drew a revolver and was stabbed and beaten to death by Hell’s Angel Alan Passaro.
Shocked and frightened, The Rolling Stones rushed through the rest of their numbers before escaping in a helicopter. This was the final performance of their US tour.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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