British DJ cancels Brazil tour after ‘he is chased by gunmen who forced him to reverse wrong way down motorway at 70mph to escape’
Published: 10:10, 7 May 2024 | Updated: 11:09, 7 May 2024
A British DJ said he is ‘broken’ and is ‘lucky to be alive’ after he was allegedly ambushed by an armed gang in Brazil [2]who then chased him and his crew at high speed down a motorway.
Daley Pedley, who goes by the stage name Hot Since 82, cancelled his upcoming shows and said he doesn’t think he will ever return to the country after the ordeal.
He said he did not know if the gang were ‘jackers or murderers’ but claimed that they specifically targeted his car in the centre of Rio de Janeiro as he travelled from a club to the airport with his team.
The gang were wearing balaclavas and were armed with AK-47s, Pedley said, adding that his ‘heroic’ driver put the car into reverse before speeding for ‘miles and miles down the motorway in reverse to try to get away from the shooters.’
‘We were really lucky to not have crashed because we were weaving in and out of oncoming traffic going 60, 70mph with the car full of AK47s following us,’ he said in an emotional Instagram[3] video.
Pedley said the gang ‘were adamant they were going to get us,’ and that they only got away from them thanks to their driver
The 41-year-old told his 525,000 followers that the chase was ‘like a scene out of Fast and Furious’, but failed to explain how his car was able to reverse backwards at such a high speed.
The Rio de Janeiro Civil Police have said there has so far been no registered incident report relating to the case, according to Brazilian media.
Pedley said the gang ‘were adamant they were going to get us,’ and that they only got away from them thanks to their driver’s manoeuvres, which he said likely saved their lives.
The music producer, who has children at home and a baby on the way in six weeks, said he was sad to be leaving Brazil but ‘can’t risk being put in a position like this.’
He said he sympathised with people in Brazil who have to live in dangerous conditions, adding that ‘humanity is cruel’.
The musician, who hails from Barnsley, said he had changed hotel rooms after the encounter and booked the next flight home.
He apologised to fans who hoped to see him perform but said he had to put his ‘safety first’.
The DJ said he believes he and his team were ‘set up’ and that someone had told the alleged jackers where they would be and when, without providing evidence to support his claim.
The artist cancelled gigs at the Time Warp Festival in Sao Paolo and the Warung Festival in Curitiba
‘I am broken inside.
It makes you lose faith in humanity to think somebody has told these shooters where we are going to be,’ he said.
The electronic house artist cancelled gigs at the Time Warp Festival in Sao Paolo and the Warung Festival in Curitiba.
Pedley’s Instagram was flooded with support from fans and fellow musicians, who said they were glad he escaped the attack.
DJ Sonny Fodera wrote: ‘Glad your ok brother, get home safe,’ while world famous Dutch producer Tiesto said: ‘so happy to hear you’re safe’.