On July 16, Korean hip-hop group BTS were forced to cut their New York City concert short, due to reported death threats against member Rap Monster (Kim Nam Joon.)

The group, also known as Bangtan Boys or Bulletproof Boyscouts, abruptly ended their sold-out Red Bullet Tour (TRB) concert with only one encore song, and without performing their latest hit single "Dope." The hasty conclusion, in which the members of BTS quickly left the stage without goodbyes, at first appeared to be due to technical difficulties involving a projection screen on stage. But as the fans eventually began filing out of the venue, rumors spread quickly that the concert organizers were forced to halt the show, due to death threats delivered through Twitter.

The concert organizers, SubKulture Entertainment, released an official statement on July 21 via Facebook, addressing the concerns of fans who were in attendance at the New York City show.

"To all the attendees of TRB in NYC," the message began. "First of all, thank you A.R.M.Ys [BTS fans] for all your love at TRB in NYC. As the very first show of the tour, you guys showed a tremendous amount of love and energy, creating a great atmosphere for the boys at their first ever USA tour."

"With that said, at the NYC show, there were some circumstances that made it necessary to cancel our post-show fan interactions, for the safety of everyone involved, including the artists, fans, and staff," the statement continued. "We regret and sympathize with the disappointment and inconvenience to those who were in attendance. This was an extremely difficult decision to make, and none of us wanted to cancel any portion of the show, but it was a necessary decision nonetheless."

SubKulture also explained why no statement was offered at the time for the abrupt end to the concert. "The promoters became aware of a specific issue which was brought to the venue’s attention DURING the show, regarding the safety of BTS," they said in their Facebook statement. "As soon as we found out, we reacted as quickly as we could to ensure the safety of the artists. As responsible parties of TRB in USA, we MUST err on the side of safety. When the lives and safety of so many are at stake, we cannot afford to take something like this lightly."

"The SOLE reason the encore ended early was for the safety and well being of BTS. We pulled BTS from the stage as soon as we became aware of the situation, and we could not bring the members out to say goodbye, for the same reason," the organizers explained. "The level of security was ample for our concert, based on the many previous concerts of which we have been a part, and as such, we had no reasonable expectation that an issue like this would arise during the show."

The reported death threats appear to have stemmed from comments made by Rap Monster during a recent interview that was deemed by some as racially offensive and insensitive. BTS and their record label, Big Hit Entertainment, have yet to address the threats, or the sensitive events that appear to have influenced them.

For those that did not get to participate in the fan interaction portion of BTS's visit to New York, SubKulture offered a few encouraging words. "We are working around the clock to settle this issue, but please understand that we are trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation that was completely beyond our control," they said. "Thank you very much for your patience. As you are all aware, we are still in the middle of our tour, which is the reason for any delays. We will keep you updated on any further developments. Thank you all for your support and understanding."

For fans with any additional questions or concerns, Subkulture Entertainment asks that you contact them at info@subkultureent.com.