He subsequently returned to the stage area, drew a revolver, and was stabbed and beaten to death by Hells Angels member Alan Passaro.

His sister Dixie warned him about the still prevalent racism in the outer reaches of Alameda County, which prompted Meredith to take a .22 Smith & Wesson revolver for protection.

By the time the Rolling Stones took the stage in the early evening, the mood had taken a decidedly ugly turn, as numerous fights began to erupt between Angels and crowd members.

Denise Jewkes (née Kaufman) of local San Francisco rock band the Ace of Cups, six months pregnant at the time, was hit in the head by an empty beer bottle thrown from the crowd and suffered a skull fracture that warranted emergency surgery.

A Hells Angel grabbed Hunter by his ear and hair and pulled him down from the speaker box, "thinking it was funny, you know, kind of laughing", according to a nearby audience member.

[9][10] A conflicting account from Gimme Shelter producer Porter Bibb states that Grateful Dead associate Rock Scully noticed Hunter in the crowd, concluding that “I saw what he was looking at, that he was crazy, he was on drugs, and that he had murderous intent.

"[11] Footage from the documentary shows Hunter, easily identifiable in a lime-green suit, drawing what appears to be a long-barreled blue steel .22 caliber revolver from his jacket and pointing it in the air.

[13] The film then shows Hells Angel Alan Passaro, armed with a knife, running at Hunter from the side, parrying the gun with his left hand and stabbing him with his right.

[14][15] In the film sequence, lasting about two seconds, a six-foot (two-meter) opening in the crowd appears, leaving Patty Bredehoft in the center.

[2] The Rolling Stones have stated that they were unaware that a killing had taken place during their set; in the Gimme Shelter documentary, Jagger notices the commotion in the crowd and threatens to end the performance until a stagehand pulls him aside and informs him about someone with a gun.

[20] In 1995, Jagger commented on Hunter's death in an interview with Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, who asked, "After the concert itself, when it became apparent that somebody got killed, how did you feel?"

Alameda County officials later voted to allow the raceway to continue to host races, but barred future concerts there and restricted the number of attendees to 3,000.

[13] Passaro drowned in Anderson Lake in southern Santa Clara County on March 29, 1985; police said "the death is kind of suspicious",[22] though foul play was never confirmed.