Rustled bag of gum leads to ‘violent attack’ during Mahler’s 5th Symphony: report | Fox News

FILE: Them rustling of a gum wrapper led to a violent confrontation during a recent concert.

The rustling of a gum wrapper during an intense performance of Mahler’s 5th Symphony in Sweden last week led to a "violent attack" in the audience after the gum-rustler smacked the glasses off a young man who grabbed the pack of gum from her and threw it on the floor.

The Washington Post reported that the attack occurred during a symphony in Malmo. Witnesses told a local paper that the woman who rustled the gum sat quietly after the man tossed her gum. When the crowd applauded Andris Nelsons, the conductor, after completing the Adagietto, the gum-chewer smacked the glasses off the man’s face. The paper said her male companion squared off with another man.

The standoff appeared to be over when the woman’s companion talked with the young man. The audience was fooled, however, because the companion used the close proximity to punch the bag-thrower in the stomach.

One witness called the fight, “very unpleasant.”

The paper reported that Sydsvenskan, the concert venue, announced what is expected from the audience during these performances, and appeared to side with the bag-thrower. Eating snacks and drinking beer may be suitable at a hockey game, but the behavior doesn’t necessarily translate in a concert hall.