Toronto police says it will be reviewing safety protocols at this year’s AFROFEST following arrests and safety concerns raised among attendees.
The African music festival took over Toronto’s Woodbine Park from July 4-6 and featured over 55 performances.
While the festival is meant to highlight African culture, several videos from the weekend festival show chaos erupting on Saturday as dozens of attendees can be seen running away due to unknown reasons.
In a statement to Now Toronto, Toronto Police Services (TPS) says it responded to multiple incidents on Saturday, including fireworks being discharged, leading to panic and several injuries.
“Police also responded to isolated altercations and made one arrest related to an assault on two officers,” the statement said on Monday.
In addition to Saturday’s arrest, police say a 14-year-old boy was arrested on Friday near the entrance of Woodbine Park after he was found carrying a loaded handgun.
Attendees were quick to post about their experience at the festival, with many saying they felt unsafe, and will never return again.
“All I saw was my life flash before my eyes,” A TikTok user said in a now viral video.
The woman goes on to say that people were running screaming, and crying.
“I found myself at times ducking and running, it was so bad that at one point I didn’t realize I was running without my shoes, I was running in my socks,” she said. “This is severe trauma.”
@livgood.eatgood On any regular day, I would do a review about the food at @afrofest …. But this wasn't a regular day… This is not your regular food review post. No lines or rhymes. Just raw emotions with the camera and sound on. On Saturday, July 5th, one of my friends and I went to Afrofest. This was my first time attending. I was excited and filled with joy, but little did I know the hell that would come. We were lining up to grab food from @tasteofghana.ca when all we heard was yelling and saw a stampede of people running. What I saw, what I experienced literally felt like a horror movie. People falling on top of each other. Children dropping to the ground and crying. Broken glass. People running into and falling on tables. Food and drinks flying. People were running in every and any direction. At one point, I was running without shoes as it got lost in the crowd of people. Just running and ducking. At one point, I was separated from my friend. I automatically went into flight mood. My survival instincts kicked in and I just wanted to get out. I kept crying out "Jesus" over and over again. I actually felt my heart coming out of my chest. Large crowds really make me overwhelmed. I really thought this was it. The stampede happened 3 times, and twice I was caught in it. Although my ankles are swollen, body aching, and scratches on my back, I'm thankful to be safe. God is truly a protector. On the other hand, I know that people had to get medical attention as a result of this. According to news release, there was indeed a stabbing which unfortunately resulted in a loss of life. I'm also hearing and reading that other things transpired; however, I don't have enough information to confirm this. It breaks my heart that we can never come together to celebrate culture and life without things popping off. Peaceful assembly is literally a right, and it is constantly taken away from us. People should be able to enjoy the fruit of their labour without worrying about their safety and well-being. We must do better – as individuals, as a community, as society… #afrofest #afrofest2025 #toronto #community #safety #violence #fyp #foryoupage #woodbinebeach #downtowntoronto #trauma #torontotiktok ♬ original sound – Olivia W
Another video shows several people attempting to find lost items that were dropped while running, and at one point an organizer can be seen on stage telling people to leave, thus, ending the event early.
Later on Saturday night, police also confirmed a separate and tragic stabbing of a 14-year-old boy that occurred off festival grounds but near a fast food restaurant in the area. Police say he died in hospital.
Police have identified the teen as Abdoul Aziz Sarr, of Toronto.
The incidents involving youth at the festival have left some people online calling for age restrictions at the festival moving forward, and many social users are also calling for increased safety measures.
TPS says it will be reviewing this year’s event with the city and organizers to determine what adjustments are needed moving forward and says it works closely with AFROFEST to review safety plans and staffing levels in advance.
“Despite those efforts, the size of Saturday’s crowd – estimated at over 30,000 people – posed challenges. Officers on site supported event security with crowd and traffic management throughout the evening,” police said.
Now Toronto reached out to AFROFEST for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
