The band had set up a stage in a city parking lot, but it never had a chance to begin its show September 3. Fire inspectors shut down the concert after deciding the crowd hadgrown too large.

That’s when disappointed fans got angry, rushing the stage, toppling over speakers and grabbing the musicians’ gear. Officers in helmets shot rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd estimated at between 3,500 to 10,000, police Officer Jason Lee said.

“They were a hostile crowd. They were throwing rocks, bottles and debris at the officers and (mounted patrol) horses,” police Cmdr. David Kalish said.

Glass doors and windows were broken at some businesses, including the Hollywood Athletic Club, as members of the crowd began to run. Police said there was no looting but the System Of A Down may think otherwise.

An already unruly situation reportedly got much worse when someone climbed onto the stage and started pulling down a banner.

The Los Angeles Times reported that people feared the concert had been called off and the crowd near the stage began throwing quarters. When they ran out of change, larger objects started to fly.

“People were tired of being here all day,” one 17-year-old told the Times. He said people started chanting insults and throwing water bottles, shoes and stones.

Police closed in when the crowd outside the fence broke through and rushed the stage, taking what equipment they didn’t vandalize.

The six people arrested were booked for various charges including assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft and receiving stolen property, police said. Names of those arrested were notimmediately available.

Several officers and concertgoers were treated for minor injuries. As for the band members, they lost most of their equipment, including a drum set, guitars and speakers.

Band members said they had wanted to reward their fan base with a free outdoor concert on the eve of the release of their new album, Toxicity.

“We’re from Los Angeles and we wanted to give them kind of a hometown thank you,” lead singer Serj Tankian said. “But we’re definitely overwhelmed and stressed out at how thingsturned out.” Fans started gathering early in the day in a parking lot on Schrader Boulevard near Sunset Boulevard. The show was to begin at 5 p.m. but the lot overflowed well before then and the crowd grew raucous. Police later estimated the crowd inside the fence at about 3,500 with several thousand more gathered outside, the Times reported.

System Of A Down kicks off the Pledge Of Allegiance tour with Slipknot, Rammstein, Mudvayne, and No One on September 14.